Algal-bacterial co-variation in streams: A cross-stream comparison

Algal-bacterial co-variation has been frequently observed in lentic and marine environments, but the existence of such relationships in lotic ecosystems is not well established. To examine possible co-variation, bacterial number and chlorophyll-a concentration in water and sediments of nine streams from different regions in the USA were examined. In the water, a strong relationship was found between chlorophyll concentration and bacterial abundance. There was not a significant linear relationship between the abundance of sediment bacteria and sediment or water chlorophyll concentration. The linear regression results obtained between bacterial numbers and chlorophyll concentration in water were generally similar to those reported in other studies on lentic and marine systems suggesting that factors that cause this co-variation may be similar.