Bacterial dynamics in the upper St. Lawrence estuary

The distribution of free bacteria in the St. Lawrence estuary was interpreted by means of bacterial fluxes and hydrodynamic residence times, derived from a circulation model, and growth and grazing rates, obtained from cultures. Bacterial abundances decreased exponentially along the salinity gradient, from 3.9 × 10 9 liter ‒1 in freshwater to 0.5 × 10 9 liter ‒1 at salinity >20. The rates of growth (0.02–0.08 h ‒1 ) and grazing (0.01–0.09 h ‒1 ) were strongly correlated ( r = 0.82), which suggests that bacteria tended toward a state of trophodynamic equilibrium (growth ≈ grazing). However, negative bacterial fluxes obtained from the model imply that the estuary is a sink for bacteria. Results from the circulation model and the cultures show that physical processes are important controlling factors of the distribution of bacteria and point to predation as the process causing bacterial losses in the estuary. Calculations show that small imbalances between growth and grazing can account for the observed distribution. Rates of dispersion and growth and grazing are of the same order of magnitude, which shows that biological processes are nevertheless significant relative to physical processes. Although the distribution of free bacteria appears largely under hydrodynamic control, the bacterial community is characterized by significant biological rates and can experience large transformations during estuarine transit.