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ROLE OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON IN DETERMINING BACTERIAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: IS STRUCTURE RELATED TO FUNCTION

Moitra, Moumita
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1334388528

Abstract Details

2012, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Biological Sciences.
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the dominant form of organic matter in aquatic ecosystems and bacteria play a key role in its mobilization to higher trophic levels. The DOC pool is often divided into broad classes such as labile or recalcitrant, based on its ease of uptake by bacteria; or as autochthonous and allochthonous, based on its production within or outside the ecosystem. In this dissertation, I examined the relationship between the composition of the DOC pool and bacterial community structure and function. The three research chapters address this relationship in different freshwater ecosystems. In the first research chapter, the effect of presence or absence of Microcystis, a dominant primary producer in the western basin of Lake Erie as well as an autochthonous DOC source, on bacterial community structure and heterotrophic productivity was studied. This study revealed that bacterial responses were independent of the presence of the dominant primary producer. In second research chapter, the effect of compositional diversity of DOC within labile and recalcitrant categories, on stream bacterial community structure and denitrification rates was investigated. Use of different compounds within each category, administered individually and in mixtures, contributed to the heterogeneity. Results of this study suggest molecular heterogeneity of DOC can lead to differences in bacterial structure and denitrification potential. In my final research chapter, bacterial responses to differences in proportion of autochthonous and allochthonous DOC between a river and reservoir ecosystem were compared. The findings of this study demonstrated that, rather than the proportion of the two DOC sources, each source, considered individually, played a more important role in determining bacterial response. Regardless of the study, in all cases bacterial community structure was not linked to function, emphasizing the requirement to study both. The results indicate that differences in DOC quality, rather than the quantity, may play a greater role in determining bacterial responses and that structure and function can be decoupled.
Dr. Laura Leff (Committee Chair)
Dr. Adam Leff (Committee Member)
Dr. Darren Bade (Committee Member)
Dr. Elizabeth Griffith (Committee Member)
Dr. Roger Gregory (Committee Member)
283 p.
Ecology
dissolved organic carbon; bacteria; community structure; Microcystis; autochthonous; allochthonous; molecular heterogeneity

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Moitra, M. (2012). ROLE OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON IN DETERMINING BACTERIAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: IS STRUCTURE RELATED TO FUNCTION [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1334388528

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Moitra, Moumita. ROLE OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON IN DETERMINING BACTERIAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: IS STRUCTURE RELATED TO FUNCTION. 2012. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1334388528.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Moitra, Moumita. "ROLE OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON IN DETERMINING BACTERIAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: IS STRUCTURE RELATED TO FUNCTION." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1334388528

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.