Filter-feeder macroinvertebrates as key players in bacterioplankton biodiversity control: a case of study with Sabella spallanzanii (Polychaeta: Sabellidae).

The present study investigates the effect of the filtering activity of Sabella spallanzanii on the culturable heterotrophic bacterial community through the comparison of the bacterial diversity in transplanted polychaetes and the surrounding seawater. For isolation of culturable heterotrophic bacteria, seawater samples as well as polychaere homogenates were plated in triplicates onto Bacto Marine Agar 2216 (Difco). All the colonies grown were isolated, subcultured and identified by several morphological, biochemical and cultural methods. Some bacterial genera showed higher average abundances in polychaetes than in seawater (i.e. Lucibacterium and Photobacterium). Aeromonas represented a conspicuous component of the bacterial community both in S. spallanzanii and seawater. The presence of Cytophaga and Pseudomonas was also relevant in the examined seawater samples. The selective concentrations of some bacterial genera inside S. spallanzanii either by grazing on bacteria or their capability as bacterial reservoirs, provides evidence for the role of macrobenthic invertebrates as key determinants for microbial diversity.