Seasonal importance of mixotrophy in Billefjorden, uptake of living material by microalgae, RiS ID 10889

The aim of the project is to study the relative contribution/importance of phagotrophy in microalgae at different seasons in a high Arctic fjord. Ingestion rates of fluorescently marked vivid bacterial cells by microalgal groups will be determined and potentially mixotrophic micralgae will be collected and identified by sequencing. In-situ incubations of natural phytoplankton communities will be conducted at 4 locations in the fjord and compared between seasons. Samples will be fixed in the field and optical analysis will be conducted in the home laboratories by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytomtery. My hypothesis is that a phagotrophic nutritional mode is wide spread in polar microalgae throughout the year but is of special importance during times of light and/or nutrient depletion.