[Relations between bacterioplankton and phytoplankton abundance in three lentic ecosystems in the Colombian Andes].

We analyzed relations among phytoplankton and total bacterioplankton fractions in three lentic ecosystems (Neusa and Prado dams, and Fúquene lagoon) with different physicochemical characteristics, in the Andes of Colombia. Samplings were made in three sites of each water body during three surveys. Neusa dam (meso to oligotrophic) had the lowest bacterial concentration; Prado dam (eutrophic) had a high bacterial and algal abundance, and the Fúquene lagoon (mesotrophic) had lower concentrations of phytoplankton but a high relative concentration of bacteria, probably because of its particular conditions: high organic matter and low nutrient levels in the water. There was a negative correlation of total bacterioplankton with the phytoplankton (Pearson = -0.4479, p = 0.019, n=27) and a positive correlation between phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria (Pearson = 0.3866, p = 0.062, n=24) and between total bacterioplankton and DBOs (Pearson = 0.4088, p = 0.034, n=27). Apparently, total bacterioplankton and phytoplankton were not coupling, but cultivable bacteria and the phytoplankton had some degree of relationship.