Do they feel the heat: the impact of rising water temperatures on the bacterial community composition during algal springbloom conditions

Against the backdrop of the functional coupling between autotrophic marine algae and heterotrophic bacteria, possible temperature-related impacts on the bacterial community structure within a brackish mesocosm system were investigated. During simulated algal spring blooms over a temperature gradient, the bacterial community structure was quantitatively and qualitatively analysed, using fluorescent staining, genetic fingerprinting and the CARD FISH method. Additionally, top-down controlling factors like viruses and heterotrophic nanoflagellates were measured as well