PARTICULATE MATTER COMPOSITION AND BACTERIAL DISTRIBUTION IN TERRA-NOVA BAY (ANTARCTICA) DURING SUMMER 1989-1990

Spatial distributions of particulate organic matter (POM) and microbes were investigated during the summer of 1989-1990 in the coastal waters of Terra Nova Bay (Antarctica). The elemental (organic carbon and nitrogen) and biochemical (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, DNA and RNA) composition of organic matter was related to bacterioplankton abundance, and pico-phytoplankton density. The ATP concentrations were also measured to gather information about the relationships between particulate matter composition and microbial distribution in Antarctic waters. Total seston was characterized by little spatial variation and was unrelated to the distance from the coast. Suspended particulate matter included some terrestrial components but was mostly composed of autochthonous material. POM was characterized by a uniform distribution and homogeneous composition (mostly of phytoplanktonic origin), and was associated with a relatively scarce microbial community characterized at the surface by high picophytoplankton density. The increase with depth of the living carbon fraction suggested an increase in the microheterotrophic community in the deeper water layers. A significant positive relationship between total bacterioplankton density, and carbohydrate and RNA concentrations was found. Similar significant relationships between pico-phytoplankton abundance and lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids were observed. On the basis of the close coupling found between microbiological and chemical compartments, it seems that, in Terra Nova Bay, bacterial distribution depends on suspended matter and in particular to the labile fraction of the organic detritus.