EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021

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5/21/2019 | 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM | EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON ACTIVITY OF STREAM MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH DECAYING LEAF LITTER | 151 ABC

EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON ACTIVITY OF STREAM MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH DECAYING LEAF LITTER

Increases in mean temperature under climate-change predictions are expected to affect microbial activity and carbon dynamics in aquatic ecosystems. We explored responses of litter-associated decomposers (fungi and bacteria) along temperature ranges typical of temperate streams to test whether microbial responses can be explained by the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE). Our experiment in laboratory microcosms simulated stream conditions and measured physiological responses of natural stream microbial assemblages colonizing Liriodendron tulipifera leaf disks to temperature (5 levels, 4-20°C). We determined litter decomposition rates, fungal biomass (ergosterol), fungal and bacterial production (radiolabeled tracers), spore production by aquatic fungi, microbial respiration rates and activity of enzymes involved in carbon sequestration. We found that responses of aquatic litter-associated microorganisms to increases in temperature are more complex than predicted by the MTE, with more pronounced fungal responses (higher apparent activation energy, E) at lower temperatures. For some parameters, estimates of E at lower temperatures were higher than canonical values often reported for respiration (~0.65 eV), suggesting that fungi and microbial carbon processing in temperate streams could be especially sensitive to temperature increases during the key winter period of high activity.

ClimateChange
Temperature
Organic Matter

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Presenters/Authors

Vlad Gulis (), Coastal Carolina University, vgulis@coastal.edu;