摘要：Dilution experiments were performed to estimate phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates at two sites: freshwater (Nida) and brackish water (Smiltyne) in the Curonian Lagoon (SE Baltic Sea). Using the size-fractionation approach and dilution experiments, we found that the microzooplankton community was able to remove up to 78% of nanophytoplankton (2-20@mm) standing stock and 130% of the total daily primary production in the brackish waters of the lagoon, and up to 83% of standing stock and 76% of the primary production of picophytoplankton (0.2-2@mm) in the freshwater part. The observed differences were attributed to the changes in ciliate community size and trophic structure, with larger nano-filterers (30-60@mm) dominating the brackish water assemblages and pico-nano filterers (<20@mm and 20-30@mm) prevailing in the freshwater part of the lagoon.
