Active versus inactive bacteria: size-dependence in a coastal marine plankton community

摘要: By directly measuring the size distribution of active (cells that took up and reduced redox dye CTC, 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride) inactive cells in a natural coastal bacterial community, we tested hypothesis likelihood bacterium being marine plankton is function its size. The average an was 0.055 pm3 while 0.12 pm3. This constant even after 3 d incubation dialysis bags placed situ, which increased percentage bacteria community from 6 to ca 43 %. probability linear size, 5% for o f 0.01 l.1n13 100% largest sizes. These results (1) support Stevenson (1978, Microb Ecol 4:127-133) very small are mainly dormant (inactive) bigger more likely be active; (2) reconcile 2 apparently opposing observations, (a) commonly found higher specific activities larger classes bacterioplankton (b) allometry regularities by smaller unicellular organisms tend have growth rates than similar metabolic mode; (3) suggest phagotrophic protists will preferentially crop portion if they select their prey according