Unravelling the sources and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in lotic aquatic ecosystems

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) constitutes a large proportion of the organic carbon in all aquatic ecosystems and is often a significant carbon resource for heterotrophic microorganisms. Diverse sources, compositional complexity and multiple transformation pathways have made it difficult to generalize about the bioavailability of this material. Recently, there has been dramatic progress in identifying sources of DOM, describing its composition and tracing its movement through microbial food webs. A number of conceptual, mechanistic and empirical approaches have been proposed to synthesize this rapidly expanding body of knowledge. This paper reviews these approaches, and some general hypotheses for focusing future research are proposed. As a first step in synthesizing the available information, predictions are made about how variability in sources, hydrology and biotic removal interact to generate temporal and spatial patterns in DOM from a stream’s headwaters to a large river.

[1]  Mary Ann Moran,et al.  BACTERIAL UTILIZATION OF DISSOLVED HUMIC SUBSTANCES FROM A FRESHWATER SWAMP , 1997 .

[2]  M. Lock,et al.  Recalcitrant High-Molecular-Weight Material, an Inhibitor of Microbial Metabolism in River Biofilms , 1992, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[3]  J. Newbold,et al.  MEASUREMENT OF STREAMWATER BIODEGRADABLE DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON WITH A PLUG-FLOW BIOREACTOR , 1995 .

[4]  T. Bott,et al.  Diel fluctuations in bacterial activity on streambed substrata during vernal algal blooms: Effects of temperature, water chemistry, and habitat , 1989 .

[5]  G. Kling,et al.  Carbon Dioxide Supersaturation in the Surface Waters of Lakes , 1994, Science.

[6]  R. Benner,et al.  Bacterial utilization of different size classes of dissolved organic matter , 1996 .

[7]  R. Sinsabaugh,et al.  Enzymatic analysis of riverine bacterioplankton production , 1997 .

[8]  C. Foreman,et al.  The trophic dynamics of riverine bacterioplankton: Relationships among substrate availability, ectoenzyme kinetics, and growth , 1998 .

[9]  D. Kirchman,et al.  Contribution of dissolved free amino acids and ammonium to the nitrogen requirements of heterotrophic bacterioplankton , 1991 .

[10]  D. McKnight,et al.  Sources and Age of Aquatic Humus , 1998 .

[11]  E. Woodward,et al.  Conservative behaviour of riverine dissolved organic carbon in the Severn Estuary: chemical and geochemical implications , 1983 .

[12]  P. Hatcher,et al.  Natural photolysis by ultraviolet irradiance of recalcitrant dissolved organic matter to simple substrates for rapidbacterial metabolism , 1995 .

[13]  C. Dahm.  Pathways and Mechanisms for Removal of Dissolved Organic Carbon from Leaf Leachate in Streams , 1981 .

[14]  F. Rassoulzadegan,et al.  Accumulation of Degradable Doc in Surface Waters: Is It Caused by a Malfunctioning Microbial Loop? , 2022 .

[15]  J. Meyer,et al.  Bacterial growth on macrophyte leachate and fate of bacterial production1 , 1986 .

[16]  P. Carlsson,et al.  Nitrogen bound to humic matter of terrestrial origin - a nitrogen pool for coastal phytoplankton? , 1993 .

[17]  M. Middelboe,et al.  A cross-system analysis of labile dissolved organic carbon , 1995 .

[18]  E. Sherr.  Direct use of high molecular weight polysaccharide by heterotrophic flagellates , 1988, Nature.

[19]  J. Quinn,et al.  Microbial enzymatic response to catchment‐scale variations in supply of dissolved organic carbon , 1997 .

[20]  E. Roden,et al.  Recovery of Humic-Reducing Bacteria from a Diversity of Environments , 1998, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[21]  T. Bott,et al.  Diel fluctuations of DOC generated by algae in a piedmont stream1 , 1982 .

[22]  N. Kroer.  Bacterial growth efficiency on natural dissolved organic matter , 1993 .

[23]  P. Boon,et al.  A review of methodology used to measure leaf litter decomposition in lotic environments: Time to turn over an old leaf? , 1991 .

[24]  Jackson R. Webster,et al.  VASCULAR PLANT BREAKDOWN IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS , 1986 .

[25]  E. Druffel,et al.  Radiocarbon in dissolved organic matter in the central North Pacific Ocean , 1987, Nature.

[26]  R. Rivkin,et al.  Inorganic nutrient limitation of oceanic bacterioplankton , 1997 .

[27]  R. Sinsabaugh,et al.  Sources of Dissolved Organic Carbon Supporting Planktonic Bacterial Production in the Tidal Freshwater , 1998 .

[28]  E. Perdue,et al.  Lignin Signature of Aquatic Humic Substances , 1984, Science.

[29]  M. Pace,et al.  Bacterial production in fresh and saltwater ecosystems: a cross-system overview , 1988 .

[30]  L. Kaplan,et al.  Chemical composition of biodegradable dissolved organic matter in streamwater , 1997 .

[31]  D. Fiebig.  Microbiological turnover of amino acids immobilized from groundwater discharged through hyporheic sediments , 1997 .

[32]  R. Benner,et al.  Chemical composition of dissolved organic nitrogen in the ocean , 1997, Nature.

[33]  J. B. Wallace,et al.  Life on a Fast Pad: Waterlily Leaf Beetle Impact on Water Lilies , 1985 .

[34]  R. Coffin,et al.  Availability of dissolved organic carbon to bacterioplankton examined by oxygen utilization , 1993 .

[35]  D. Karl,et al.  Bacterial ectoenzymes in marine waters : activity ratios and temperature responses in three oceanographic provinces , 1995 .

[36]  M. Pace,et al.  Microbial assimilation of DIN in a nitrogen rich estuary:implications for food quality and isotope studies , 1998 .

[37]  S. Bunn,et al.  Sources, sinks and transformations of organic carbon in Australian floodplain rivers , 1999 .

[38]  J. Meyer,et al.  Biological availability of dissolved organic carbon along the Ogeechee River , 1991 .

[39]  L. Leff,et al.  The Response of Three Bacterial Populations to Pollution in a Stream , 1997, Microbial Ecology.

[40]  G. Harris.  Comparison of the biogeochemistry of lakes and estuaries: ecosystem processes, functional groups, hysteresis effects and interactions between macro- and microbiology , 1999 .

[41]  R. Hodson,et al.  Support of bacterioplankton production by dissolved humic substances from three marine environments , 1994 .

[42]  L. Tranvik,et al.  Decreased biodegradability of algal DOC due to interactive effects of UV radiation and humic matter , 1998 .

[43]  C. Freeman,et al.  The biofilm polysaccharide matrix: A buffer against changing organic substrate supply? , 1995 .

[44]  Jeremy B. Jones.  Factors controlling hyporheic respiration in a desert stream , 1995 .

[45]  J. Petersen,et al.  Influence of Three Contrasting Detrital Carbon Sources on Planktonic Bacterial Metabolism in a Mesotrophic Lake , 1999, Microbial Ecology.

[46]  D. Schindler,et al.  The role of DOC in protecting freshwaters subjected to climatic warming and acidification from UV exposure , 1997 .

[47]  M. Moran,et al.  Role of photoreactions in the formation of biologically labile compounds from dissolved organic matter , 1997 .

[48]  M. Lagunas-Solar,et al.  Bioavailability of methylmercury to sacramento blackfish (Orthodon microlepidotus): Dissolved organic carbon effects , 1998 .

[49]  J. Hobbie,et al.  Use of Glucose and Acetate by Bacteria and Algae in Aquatic Ecosystems , 1966 .

[50]  Patrick J. Mulholland,et al.  Dissolved Organic Matter Concentration and Flux in Streams , 1997, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[51]  E. Perdue.  Chemical Composition, Structure, and Metal Binding Properties , 1998 .

[52]  W. M. Kemp,et al.  Organic carbon balance and net ecosystem metabolism in Chesapeake Bay , 1997 .

[53]  M. Moran,et al.  Biodegradation of riverine dissolved organic carbon in five estuaries of the southeastern United States , 1999 .

[54]  J. Vallino,et al.  Terrestrial inputs of organic matter to coastal ecosystems: An intercomparison of chemical characteristics and bioavailability , 1998 .

[55]  David C. Smith,et al.  Variability in ectohydrolytic enzyme activities of pelagic marine bacteria and its significance for substrate processing in the sea , 1996 .

[56]  Richard L. Smith,et al.  Seasonal relationships between planktonic microorganisms and dissolved organic material in an alpine stream , 1993 .

[57]  A. Denning,et al.  Sources of dissolved and particulate organic material in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA , 1991 .

[58]  J. Vallino,et al.  Modeling bacterial utilization of dissolved organic matter: Optimization replaces Monod growth kinetics , 1996 .

[59]  James M. Ehrman,et al.  Variations in discharge and dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen export from terrestrial basins with changes in climate: A neural network approach , 1996 .

[60]  R. Benner,et al.  Photochemical reactivity of dissolved lignin in river and ocean waters , 1998 .

[61]  T. Thingstad,et al.  Bacteria—protist interactions and organic matter degradation under P‐limited conditions: Analysis of an enclosure experiment using a simple model , 1999 .

[62]  Donald E. Weller,et al.  Relating nutrient discharges from watersheds to land use and streamflow variability , 1997 .

[63]  R. Sinsabaugh,et al.  Original Articles: Sources of Dissolved Organic Carbon Supporting Planktonic Bacterial Production in the Tidal Freshwater Hudson River , 1998, Ecosystems.

[64]  R. Heath,et al.  Iron redox effects on photosensitive phosphorus release from dissolved humic materials , 1990 .

[65]  Jill McGrady-Steed,et al.  Biodiversity regulates ecosystem predictability , 1997, Nature.

[66]  R. Benner,et al.  Distribution and cycling of terrigenous dissolved organic matter in the ocean , 1997, Nature.

[67]  J. Meyer,et al.  Use of elemental composition to predict bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in a Georgia river , 1997 .

[68]  W. McDowell,et al.  Origin, Composition, and Flux of Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Hubbard Brook Valley , 1988 .

[69]  D. Kirchman,et al.  Regulation of Bacterial Growth Rates by Dissolved Organic Carbon and Temperature in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean , 1997, Microbial Ecology.

[70]  I. C. Campbell,et al.  Polyphenols, Condensed Tannins, and Processing Rates of Tropical and Temperate Leaves in an Australian Stream , 1995, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[71]  R. Wetzel.  Gradient-dominated ecosystems: sources and regulatory functions of dissolved organic matter in freshwater ecosystems , 1992 .

[72]  C. Forsberg.  Will an increased greenhouse impact in Fennoscandia give rise to more humic and coloured lakes , 1992 .

[73]  S. Giovannoni,et al.  Genetic diversity in Sargasso Sea bacterioplankton , 1990, Nature.

[74]  K. Bencala,et al.  Response characteristics of DOC flushing in an alpine catchment , 1997 .

[75]  S. Schiff,et al.  Sources and flowpaths of dissolved organic carbon during storms in two forested watersheds of the Precambrian Shield , 1998 .

[76]  E. M. Thurman,et al.  Organic Geochemistry of Natural Waters , 1985, Developments in Biogeochemistry.

[77]  P. Mulholland,et al.  Seasonal patterns in streamwater nutrient and dissolved organic carbon concentrations: Separating catchment flow path and in‐stream effects , 1997 .

[78]  Stephen R. Carpenter,et al.  Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, 680 N. Park St., Madison, Wisconsin 53717 , 1998 .

[79]  B. Forsberg,et al.  Bacterial carbon metabolism in the Amazon River system , 1995 .

[80]  A. Herzig,et al.  Role of ultraviolet‐B radiation on photochemical and microbial oxygen consumption in a humic‐rich shallow lake , 1997 .