Bacterial number, heterotrophy and extracellular enzyme activity in the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

• Main Author: Kim, Sang-Jin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Institut für Meereskunde 1991
• Subjects: Austral; Bransfield Strait; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/56275/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/56275/1/Kim_SJ_1991.pdf

To study the structure and function of bacterial populations in the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica, which is located between S 62°-64° and W 56°-62°, twenty nine sampling stations were chosen. Samples were collected from seawater and sediment during austral summer (1989 Dec. - 1990 Jan.) and analyzed for total bacterial number, total saprophytic bacterial number, heterotrophic activity and extracellular enzyme activities. The number of total bacteria in seawater was between 1.0 x 104 cells/ml and 1.6 x 105 cells/ml, and total saprophytic bacteria were between 0.5 x 102 CFU/l and 8.0 x 104 CFU/l. The population density of saprophytic bacteria was significantly low, giving less than 10-4 of the total bacterial number, in this region. Turnover times of glucose and leucine in seawater were in the ranges of 41 to 2094 hrs, and 56 to 980 hrs, respectively. Turnover times of these organic matters were extremely variable depending on the sampling station and water depth. In the sediments, the enzyme activities of α-glucosidase, N-acetyl- β -glucosaminidase and aminopeptidase of the fast growing bacterial population were higher than those of the slow growing bacterial population, β-glucosidase activities, however, were higher in the slow growing bacterial population.