Theory of island biogeography on a microscopic scale: organic aggregates as islands for aquatic pathogens

Abstract

The term 'organic aggregate' is a general expression that encompasses multiple kinds of aggregated material suspended in aquatic systems, including marine, lake and river snow, macro-and microaggregates, organic detritus, flocs and bioflocs (see Fig. Aggregation of living, dead, and inorganic particles in aquatic ecosystems is a natural process influenced by numerous biological, chemical, and physical interactions, and affects the net transport of carbon, nutrients, metals, and other materials from the water column to