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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 1175

Barry F. Sherr, Evelyn B. Sherr, and Thomas Berman; Grazing, growth, and ammonium excretion rates of a heterotrophic microflagellate fed with four species of bacteria. Appl.Environ.Microbiol. 45(4):1196-1201, 1983

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We studied aspects of the population growth of a microflagellate, Monas sp., isolated from Lake Kinneret, Israel. The protozoan growth rates, rates of ingestion of bacteria, and final population yields generally increased with increasing bacterial concentrations, although the exact relationship varied depending on the species of bacteria used as food. Grazing rates decreased hyperbolically with increasing food density. Gross growth efficiencies and ammonia excretion rates were similar over a range of food densities among the four species of bacteria. Population doubling times and ammonia excretion rates were lowest, and growth efficiencies were highest, at temperatures between 18 and 24 degrees C. Under optimum condition, the microflagellates had average population doubling times of 5.0 to 7.8 hr, average growth efficiencies of 23.7 to 48.7%, and average ammonia excretion rates of 0.76 to 1.23 umol of NH4+ per mg (dry wt) per hr.