The ecology of sediment bacteria and hypolimnetic catabolism in lakes : the relative importance of autochthonous and allochthonous organic matter

Microbial metabolic activity in the hypolimnia and sediments of lakes drives the recycling of organic matter both through mineralization and the production of microbial biomass, which may be utilized by grazers. A correction factor was developed based on the water content of sediment samples that corrects sediment bacteria microscopic counts for masking due to sediment particles. Using this correction factor, it was found that sediment bacterial biomass in 22 lakes was positively related to an indicator of the rate of allochthonous organic matter input to lakes. However, the total hypolimnetic carbon mineralization rate of lakes, which integrates both sediment and hypolimnetic water column mineralization, was found to be driven mainly by phytoplankton carbon and to occur mainly in the hypolimnetic water column. Indeed, various hypolimnetic and sediment catabolic processes were found to show a strong positive relationship with indicators of autochthonous organic matter standing stocks and production. In no cases were the processes significantly positively correlated with allochthonous organic matter standing stocks. Results of this research show that autochthonous primary production drives carbon recycling in the hypolimnetic water column, with the ultimate fate of this production being determined principally by the hypolimnetic thickness. The main fate of allochthonous organic matter in lakes is to become a major component of sediment organic matter where it likely drives a much slower catabolism due to its recalcitrance