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

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Abstract

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) input is a key factor for freshwater ecology, since it regulates many aspects of aquatic ecosystem metabolism. Aquatic and terrestrial animals that inhabit or frequent aquatic environments also influence the DOM inputs via their faeces, supplying nutrients such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). Here, we analyse the response of a bacterial community in the newly formed proglacial Lake Ventisquero Negro (Mount Tronador) to the addition of dissolved nutrients from faeces leachate 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 unenriched lake water and lake water enriched with leachate from hare or goose faeces. The results showed that faeces and leachates of geese were richer in nutrients than those of hares. Spectrofluorometric analysis of the DOM also showed differences between the two sources. Nutrient enrichment positively affected bacterial respiration and short-term carbon consumption. Thus, the faeces of these two animals may play an important ecological role by supplying allochthonous DOM and nutrients to this new ecosystem.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by FONCYT (PICT 2015-0418, PICT 2015-2138). EV is the holder of a CONICET Fellowship, and MBN and BM are CONICET researchers. We thank Ariel Mayoral for help during sampling. This work was carried out within the framework of the Argentinian National Inter-University Council (CIN).

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  1. Laboratorio de Limnología, INIBIOMA, UNComahue- CONICET, Quintral 1250, 8400, Bariloche, Argentina

    Evelyn N. Vega, Marcela Bastidas Navarro & Beatriz Modenutti

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  1. Evelyn N. Vega
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  2. Marcela Bastidas Navarro
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  3. Beatriz Modenutti
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Correspondence to Marcela Bastidas Navarro.

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Vega, E.N., Bastidas Navarro, M. & Modenutti, B. Goose and hare faeces as a source of nutrients and dissolved organic matter for bacterial communities in the newly formed proglacial lake Ventisquero Negro (Patagonia, Argentina). Hydrobiologia 847, 1479–1489 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04202-4

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