Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2013, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (6): 73-79.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2013.06.011cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2013.06.011

• Marine biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preliminary study on marine bacterial growth efficiency in the northern South China Sea in summer

WANG Sheng-fu1, 2, SONG Xing-yu1, HUANG Liang-min1, TAN Ye-hui1, KE Zhi-xin1   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Marine Bio-resources Sustainable Utilization, South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, China Academy of Science, Guangzhou 510301, China; 
    2. University of China Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2012-04-05 Revised:2012-05-10 Online:2013-12-20 Published:2014-01-21

Abstract:

An in situ study on bacterial growth efficiency, bacterial respiration, bacterial production, and related ecological and environmental factors were carried out in the northern South China Sea in September 2010. The average values of bacterial production (C) and bacterial respiration (C) were 0.08±0.02 mg·m-3·h-1and 0.92±0.18 mg·m-3·h-1, respectively, while the bacterial growth efficiency varied between 6.20% and 9.84%. Both bacterial respiration and bacterial carbon demand were obviously higher than the primary production, indicating that the surface waters of the northern South China Sea were characterized as a heterotrophic system, and the carbon produced by primary productivity could not meet the demand of bacterial metabolism. Although the bacterial production was significantly correlated with the bacterial respiration in the northern South China Sea, the notable correlated environmental factors of these two parameters did not match, which suggests that these two ecological processes may have different regulation mechanisms in the study area. The integrated analysis on bacterial metabolism and related ecological and environmental factors indicated that both bacterial respiration and bacterial production played important roles in the circulation of materials and energy flux in microbial loop and the whole ecosystem of the northern South China Sea.

Key words: bacterial production, bacterial respiration, bacterial growth efficiency, bacterial carbon demand, the northern South China Sea

CLC Number: 

  • P735.12