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Seasonal variability in the bacteriolytic capacity of the deposit feeder Arenicola marina: environmental correlatesPlante CJ, Mayer LM
ABSTRACT: Although deposit-feeding macrofauna consume and digest sedimentary bacteria, it is unclear whether feeding rates and digestion efficiencies are high enough to significantly impact the composition and abundance of bacteria in marine sediments. It is likely
that both feeding rates and efficiency of digestion vary markedly through space and time. We used a turbidimetric assay to compare the rate of bacteriolysis by digestive fluids collected seasonally from the deposit-feeding polychaete Arenicola
marina. Under standardized, experimental conditions, bacteriolytic rates represent concentrations of lytic agents. This concentration was found to vary significantly throughout the year (p = 0.001), showing greater than a
2
KEY WORDS: Sedimentary bacteria · Trophic interactions · Deposit feeder · Arenicola marina
Published in AME Vol.
11, No. 2
(1996) on August 29
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