Goose and hare faeces as a source of nutrients and dissolved organic matter for bacterial communities from the newly formed proglacial lake Ventisquero Negro (Patagonia, Argentina)

VEGA E.; BASTIDAS NAVARRO M.; MODENUTTI B.

HYDROBIOLOGIA

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2020

0018-8158

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) input is a key factor for freshwater ecology since it regulates many aspects of the aquatic ecosystems metabolism. Aquatic and terrestrial animals that frequently live or visit aquatic environments, also influence the DOM inputs via their faeces, supplying nutrients such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Here, we analyze the response of bacterial community from the newly formed proglacial Lake Ventisquero Negro (Mount Tronador) to the addition of dissolved nutrients from faeces leachates of the native goose (Chloephaga poliocephala, Sclater 1857, locally called ?cauquén?) and the European hare (Lepus europaeus, Pallas 1778). A laboratory incubation experiment was carried out with lake water unenriched and enriched with leachates from faeces of hare or goose. Results showed that the faeces and leachates of goose are richer in nutrients than that of the hare. Spectrofluorometric analysis of the DOM also showed differences between both sources. Nutrient enrichments affected positively bacterial respiration and short-term carbon consumption. Thus, faeces of these two animals would play an important ecological role by supplying allochthonous DOM and nutrients to this new ecosystem.