Bacterio- and virioplankton in water bodies of a raised bog (Vologda oblast, Russia)

Abstract

The abundance of virio-and bacterioplankton and the role of viruses in the mortality of heterotrophic bacteria have been studied in three different mire water bodies (lagg, hollow, and stream) in the Shichengskoe raised bog. The abundance of bacteria (up to 93 million cells/mL) and viruses (up to 152 million particles/mL) reached very high values. Considerable differences were found between the mire water bodies in seasonal dynamics and average values of the studied parameters. The ratio of the number of virioplankton to the number of bacterioplankton (median values from 1.3 in a hollow to 5.6 in a stream) is in low ranges of values which are available in literature sources. Viruses did not have a considerable direct effect on bacterioplankton while lysing ≤7.8% of the bacterial production.