Inhibitors produced by algae as an ecological factor affecting bacteria in water ecosystems. I. Dependence between phytoplankton and bacteria development.

Studies were conducted on the eutrophic Mikołajskie Lake in the Mazurian Lake District. Over the period of investigation three maxima of the development of phytoplankton were observed: in the spring, summer and autumn. During the algal blooms the total number of bacteria in the lake strongly decreased and was between several and a dozen time smaller than between blooms. The decrease in the total number of bacteria in water and the elimination of gram positive bacteria during the algal blooms is most probably caused by the production by the algae of substances inhibiting bacterial development.