Zooplankton-mediated changes of bacterial community structure

Enclosure experiments in the mesotrophic Schöhsee in northern Germany were designed to study the impact of metazooplankton on components of the microbial food web (bacteria, flagellates, ciliates). Zooplankton was manipulated in 500-liter epilimnetic mesocosms so that either Daphnia or copepods were dominating, or metazooplankton was virtually absent. The bacterial community responded immediately to changes in zooplankton composition. Biomass, productivity, and especially the morphology of the bacteria changed drastically in the different treatments. Cascading predation effects on the bacterioplankton were transmitted mainly by phagotrophic protozoans which had changed in species composition and biomass. When Daphnia dominated, protozoans were largely suppressed and the original morphological structure of the bacteria (mainly small rods and cocci) remained throughout the experiment. Dominance of copepods or the absence of metazoan predators resulted in a mass appearance of bacterivorous protists (flagellates and ciliates). They promoted a fast decline of bacterial abundance and a shift to the predominance of morphologically inedible forms, mainly long filaments. After 3 days they formed 80-90% of the bacterial biomass. The results indicate that metazooplankton predation on phagotrophic protozoans is a key mechanism for the regulation of bacterioplankton density and community structure.