We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Flexible habitat choice of pelagic bacteria increases system stability and energy flow through the microbial loop
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers found that pelagic bacteria capable of switching between free-living and particle-attached lifestyles enhanced ecosystem stability and energy flow through the microbial loop, with implications for how increasing artificial particle densities may reshape aquatic food webs.
Abstract Pelagic bacteria can be classified into free‐living and particle‐attached life modes, which either dwell in the water column or attach to suspended particles. Bacteria with a generalist life style, however, can actively shift between these two habitats. Globally increasing densities of natural and artificial particles enhance habitat heterogeneity, with potential consequences for system stability and trophic transfer through aquatic food webs. To better decipher the dynamics of microbial communities, we investigated the influence of adaptive vs. fixed habitat choice on species coexistence for a simplified bacterial community by analyzing a corresponding food web model, consisting of two specialist bacterial prey species (free and attached), a generalist bacterial prey species with the ability to shift between both habitats, and two protist predators, specialized on either water or particle compartment. For simplicity we assume a shared resource pool, considering particles only for colonization but not as a source for nutrients or carbon, that is, inert particles like microplastics or inorganic sediments. The model predicts coexistence on a cyclic attractor between fixed and flexible bacteria, if the costs for adaptive habitat choice can be balanced by adaptation speed. The presence of adaptive prey dampens predator–prey cycle amplitudes, contributing to system stabilization resulting in higher mean predator biomass compared to specialist prey only. Thus, in pelagic microbial systems, flexible habitat choice at the prey level has important implications for system stability and magnitude of energy flow through the microbial loop.
More Papers Like This
Can Microplastic Pollution Change Important Aquatic Bacterial Communities?
AI summary Read the abstract
Microplastics in coastal sediments can change the composition of important bacterial communities that cycle nutrients and maintain ecosystem health. Microplastic-associated bacteria differ significantly from natural sediment bacteria, with potential consequences for the chemical processes these communities perform.
Multiscale reorganisation of colloidal aggregation by percolating bacterial networks
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists found that even "non-swimming" bacteria can act like scaffolding, causing tiny particles (colloids) to clump together into branching networks—and in turn, those particles help reinforce the bacterial structure. This matters because similar clumping could happen with microplastics in water or soil, meaning bacteria might influence how microplastic pollution spreads, sinks, or gets trapped in the environment—which could ultimately affect our exposure to these particles through water and food.
Deciphering the pathogenic risks of microplastics as emerging particulate organic matter in aquatic ecosystem
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers compared how microplastics and natural organic matter like leaves and algae affect bacterial communities in aquatic environments. The study found that microplastics uniquely promoted pathogenic bacteria as keystone species and amplified their capacity to host antibiotic resistance genes, suggesting that microplastic pollution may pose distinct pathogenic risks beyond those of natural particles.
Microbial Dynamics on Different Microplastics in Coastal Urban Aquatic Ecosystems: The Critical Roles of Extracellular Polymeric Substances
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated how microbial communities colonize different types of microplastics in urban coastal waters, forming distinct ecosystems known as plastispheres. They found that the type of plastic significantly shaped which bacteria grew on it and how much sticky extracellular material they produced. Understanding these microbial communities on microplastics matters because they can harbor harmful bacteria and influence how pollutants move through aquatic environments.
Impact of Microbial Uptake on the Nutrient Plume around Marine Organic Particles: High-Resolution Numerical Analysis
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a high-resolution numerical model to analyze how free-living marine bacteria reshape the nutrient dissolution plumes surrounding slow-moving organic particles, finding that microbial uptake significantly alters the spatial distribution of dissolved nutrients at the single-particle level with implications for ocean carbon and nutrient cycling.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.