Autotrophic picoplankton (<3 microm) composed of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes are the most abundant primary producers on Earth. In this study we examined the ingestion of the picoeukaryote Ostreococcus tauri by different marine heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) with various morphologies, swimming and feeding behaviours. Cultures of specific bacterivorous nanoflagellates (Rhynchomonas nasuta, Jakoba libera, and a culture of Cafeteria sp./Monosiga sp.) and natural nanoflagellate populations were used as grazers. For comparison with Ostreococcus, we used similar-sized prokaryotes as prey, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. We observed large species-specific differences in terms of: use of picoautotrophs among nanoflagellates, time lag between prey addition and prey consumption (0-196 h), grazing rate (0-0.12 h(-1)), growth rate (0-0.3 h(-1)) and maximum abundance of HNF reached in experimental bottles (e.g. from 10(4) to 10(5) cells ml(-1), for a natural coastal population and a Cafeteria sp./Monosiga sp. culture feeding Ostreococcus respectively). Overall, this study shows that the nanoflagellate community composition is conclusive for picoautotrophic community structure and, vice versa, the picoautotrophic community structure favours or inhibits the growth of some nanoflagellate groups.

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The ability of aquatic bacteria isolated from habitats around the outlet of treated wastewater in a coastal marine ecosystem to mobilize the nonconjugative recombinant plasmid pCE328 was studied. A total of 208 strains were screened for their large plasmid content; 51 strains carried at least one large plasmid. Of these, 6 strains from wastewater and 8 from the marine environment were able to mobilize pCE328. Mobilizing strains were isolated from all habitats, and the majority belonged to the genus Aeromonas. The frequencies of mobilization in plate mating experiments ranged from 2 × 10−7 to 4.4 × 10−5 per donor at 15°C and 20°C. Mobilization occurred at lower frequencies in microcosm experiments. The results suggest that recombinant DNA released at such interfaces may be transferred rapidly to the autochtonous populations through several bacterial species.

The variation in the levels of thermotolerant coliforms has been measured at various time–space observation scales in a marine coastal ecosystem (Thau pond). The spatial distribution of the bacteria was organized in the ecosystem (observation distance ≈1 km) in the form of either spots or gradients. The latter only appeared after massive drifts from the watershed. A strong local variation (< 1 km) was permanently associated with a broader observation scale. Local variation can develop from rapidly decreasing gradients in the levels of thermotolerant coliforms, starting from the drift points of the watershed. The variation with time was high whatever the observation frequency (monthly, daily, hourly). Monthly sampling usually revealed higher bacterial counts during winter compared with summer. During winter, the daily and hourly degree of variation of the bacterial levels was comparable and the populations were organized according to a linear trend. In summer time, there was a higher degree of variation in the populations and hourly variations can show cyclic trends (diurnal minima and nocturnal maxima). Our results show that privileged sampling scales occur and should be considered when evaluating the impact of environmental parameters (sun exposure, role of the watershed… ) and trying to correlate them. These results also enabled us to define a better sampling strategy for the detection of thermotolerant coliforms in such an ecosystem. Key words: thermotolerant coliforms, marine coastal ecosystem, spatial distribution, variation with time, sampling. [Journal translation]