Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Seasonal relationships between planktonic microorganisms and dissolved organic material in an alpine stream

  • Published:
Biogeochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The relationships between the abundance and activity of planktonic, heterotrophic microorganisms and the quantity and characteristics of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in a Rocky Mountain stream were evaluated. Peak values of glucose uptake, 2.1 nmol L−1 hr−1, and glucose concentration, 333 nM, occurred during spring snowmelt when the water temperature was 4.0°C and the DOC concentration was greatest. The turnover time of thein situ glucose pool ranged seasonally from 40–1110 hours, with a mean of 272 hr. Seasonal uptake of3H-glucose, particulate ATP concentrations, and direct counts of microbial biomass were independent of temperature, but were positively correlated with DOC concentrations and negatively correlated with stream discharge. Heterotrophic activity in melted snow was generally low, but patchy. In the summer, planktonic heterotrophic activity and microbial biomass exhibited small-scale diel cycles which did not appear to be related to fluctuations in discharge or DOC, but could be related to the activity of benthic invertebrates. Leaf-packs placed under the snow progressively lost weight and leachable organic material during the winter, indicating that the annual litterfall in the watershed may be one source of the spring flush of DOC. These results indicate that the availability of labile DOC to the stream ecosystem is the primary control on seasonal variation in heterotrophic activity of planktonic microbial populations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aiken GR, McKnight DM, Thorn KA & Thurman EM (1992) Isolation of hydrophilic organic acids from water using macroporous resins. Org. Geochem. 18 (4): 567–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker BL, Ladd TI, Telang SA, Costerton JW & Hodgson GW (1982) The biogeochemistry of streams: The Red Deer River. Alberta Research Management Division Report, RMD 82-154,221 pp

  • Baker JH (1986) Relationship between microbial activity of stream sediments determined by three different methods, and abiotic variables. Microb. Ecol. 12: 193–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron J, McKnight DM & Denning AS (1991) Sources of dissolved and suspended organic material in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Biogeochem. 15: 89–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bott TL, Kaplan LA & Kuserk FT (1984) Benthic bacterial biomass supported by streamwater dissolved organic matter. Microb. Ecol. 10: 335–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bulleid NC (1978) An improved method for the extraction of adenosine triphosphate from marine sediments. Limnol. Oceanog. 23: 174–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavari BZ & Phelps G (1977) Sensitive enzymatic assay for glucose determination in natural waters. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 33: 1237–1243

    Google Scholar 

  • Denning AS, Baron J, Mast MA & Arthur M (1991) Hydrologic pathways and chemical composition of runoff during snowmelt in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Water, Air Soil Poll. 59: 107–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Easthouse KB, Mulder J & Christophersen N (1992) Dissolved organic carbon fractions in soil and stream water during variable hydrological conditions at Birkenes, Southern Norway, Water Resour. Res. 28 (6): 1585–1596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gocke K, Dawson R & Liebezeit G (1981) Availability of dissolved free glucose to heterotrophic microorganisms. Mar. Biol. 62: 209–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goulder R (1984) Downstream increase in the abundance and heterotrophic activity of suspended bacteria in an intermittent calcareous headstream. Freshwater Biol. 14: 611–619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie JE (1967) Glucose and acetate turnover in freshwater: Concentrations and turnover rates: In: Chemical Environment in the Aquatic Habitat, Proceedings of an I.B.P. symposium. Amsterdam, 10–16 October, 1966

  • Hornberger GM, Bencala KE & McKnight DM (submitted) Hydrologic controls on the temporal variation of dissolved organic carbon in the Snake River near Montezuma, Colorado. Biogeochemistry

  • Hurst JL, Pugh GJF & Walton DWH (1985) The effects of freeze-thaw cycles and leaching on the loss of soluble carbohydrates from leaf material on two subantarctic plants. Polar Biol. 4: 27–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iversen TM, Thorup J & Skriver J (1982) Inputs and transformation of allochthonous particulate organic matter in a headwater stream. Holarctic Ecol. 5: 10–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis WM Jr & Grant MC (1979) Relationships between flushing and yield of dissolved substances from a mountain watershed. Soil Sci. 128: 353–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight DM, Bencala KE, Zellweger GW, Aiken GR, Feder GL & Thorn KA (1992) Sorption of dissolved organic carbon (including fulvic and hydrophilic acids) by hydrous aluminium and iron oxides: A study of processes occurring at the confluence of Deer Creek with the Snake River, Summit County, Colorado, Environ. Sci. Technol. 26: 1388–1396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight DM & Bencala KE (1990) The chemistry of iron, aluminium, and dissolved organic material in three acidic, metal-enriched, mountain streams, as controlled by watershed and in-stream processes. Water Resour. Res. 26: 3087–3100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight DM & Feder GL (1984) The ecological effect of acid conditions and precipitation of hydrous metal oxides in a Rocky Mountain stream. Hydrobiol. 119: 129–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JL (1990) Production and utilization of dissolved organic carbon in riverine ecosystems. In: Perdue EM & Gjessing ET (Eds) Organic Acids in Aquatic Ecosystems (pp 281–299). John Wiley and Sons, Ltd

  • Minitab, Inc (1988) Minitab Reference Manual

  • Mopper K, Dawson R, Liebezeit G & Ittekot V (1980) The monosaccharide spectra of natural waters. Mar. Chem. 10: 55–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moran MA & Hodson RE (1990) Bacterial production on humic and nonhumic components of dissolved organic carbon. Limnol. & Oceanog. 35: 1744–1756

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray RE & Hodson RE (1984) Microbial biomass and utilization of dissolved organic matter in the Okefenokee Swamp ecosystem. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 47: 685–692

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith RL, Harvey RW & LeBlanc DR (1991) Importance of closely spaced vertical sampling in delineating chemical and microbiological gradients in groundwater studies. J. Cont. Hydrol. 7: 285–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theobald PK, Lakin HW & Hawkins DB (1963) The precipitation of aluminum, iron, and manganese at the junction of Deer Creek with the Snake River in Summit County, Colorado. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 27: 121–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurman EM (1985) Organic Geochemistry of Natural Waters. Junk Publishers, 497 p

  • Thurman EM & Malcolm RL (1981) Preparative isolation of aquatic humic substances. Environ. Sci. Technol. 15: 463–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaccaro RF, Hicks SE, Jannasch HW & Carey FG (1968) The occurrence and role of glucose in seawater. Limnol. Oceanog. 13: 356–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vervier Phillipe & Naiman Robert J (1992) Spatial and temporal fluctuations of dissolved organic carbon in sursurface flow of the Stillaguamish River (Washington, USA). Arch. Hydrobiol. 123 (4): 401–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright RT & Hobbie JE (1966) Use of glucose and acetate by bacteria and algae in aquatic ecosystems. Ecol. 47: 447–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, 3215 Marine Street, Boulder, Colorado, 80303

    Diane M. McKnight, Richard L. Smith, Richard A. Harnish & Christine L. Miller

  2. United States Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, 345 Middlefield Road, MS 496, Menlo Park, California, 94025

    Kenneth E. Bencala

Authors
  1. Diane M. McKnight
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard L. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard A. Harnish
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christine L. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kenneth E. Bencala
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McKnight, D.M., Smith, R.L., Harnish, R.A. et al. Seasonal relationships between planktonic microorganisms and dissolved organic material in an alpine stream. Biogeochemistry 21, 39–59 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002687

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002687

Key words

Search

Navigation