Heterotrophic protists as a trophic link between picocyanobacteria and the pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera in the Takapoto lagoon (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia)

Pearl oysters are farmed in oligotrophic tropical atoll lagoons where planktonic communities are dominated by production from cyanobacteria smaller than 2 pm. Paradoxically, the pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera only retains particles larger than 2 Pm. In this study, we assess the relative contribution of hetero/mixotrophic microbiota to the available planktonic resource. In Takapoto Atoll, picocyanobacteria are the dominant biomass (20 mug C l(-1)). The carbon biomass of ciliates and dinoflagellates ranges from 1 to 24 and 0.5 to 5 mug C l(-1) respectively, with a mean of 6 mug C l(-1) for ciliates and 2 mug C l(-1) for dinoflagellates. The possible retention by P. margaritifera on a natural protist suspension was investigated. Due to its high clearance rates (ca 20 l h(-1) g(-1)) the pearl oyster retained 85 mug C h(-1) g(-1) from ciliates and 55 mug C h(-1) g(-1) from dinoflagellates. Conversely, cyanobacteria were not efficiently retained by the bivalve and did not efficiently contribute to its diet. From our experiments, we concluded that hetero/mixotrophic protists rapidly and efficiently process the picoplanktonic resource towards filter-feeders, particularly pearl oysters.