Changes in Bacterial Community Composition and Dynamics and Viral Mortality Rates Associated with Enhanced Flagellate Grazing in a Mesoeutrophic Reservoir

Abstract

Bacterioplankton from a meso-eutrophic dam reservoir was size fractionated to reduce (Flectobacillus lineage. Shifts of BCC were also reflected in DGGE patterns and in the increases in the relative importance of both beta proteobacteria and members of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster, which consistently formed different parts of the bacterial flocs. Viral concentrations and frequencies of infected cells were highly significantly correlated with grazing rates, suggesting that protistan grazing may stimulate viral activity.