Alcian Blue-stained particles in a eutrophic lake

Abstract

We used a neutral solution of Alcian Blue to stain transparent particles in eutrophic Lake Frederiksborg Slotss0, Denmark. Alcian Blue-stained particles (ABSP) appeared to be similar to the so-called transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) identified with an acidic solution of Alcian Blue. Our results on the abundance, size distribution and bacterial colonization of ABSP therefore reflect general patterns of TEP. The abundance of ABSP in the size range 3–162 μm and retained by 3mu;m pore size filters averaged 3.6±2.49×10 5 ml −1 (±SD), which is among the highest concentrations reported for comparable size spectra of TEP. On average, 35 % of ABSP (by number) were colonized by bacteria and 8.6×10 5 bacteria ml −1 lake water were attached to ABSP, which corresponds to 7% of the total bacterial abundance.