ABSTRACT: Marine microorganisms live and interact at the microscale. Yet, in a field traditionally dominated by human-scale sampling approaches, we are only just beginning to develop an appreciation for the importance of microbial microscale processes. Here, I propose that the 100 µm length scale is a useful yardstick to measure and develop an intuition for this rich microscale world, because it characterizes a range of physical, chemical and biological processes that occur in a microbe’s quotidian journey through the sea.
KEY WORDS: Marine microbes · Microscale interactions · Microbial ecology · Gradients · Chemotaxis · Motility · Turbulence
Full text in pdf format | Cite this article as: Stocker R
(2015) The 100 µm length scale in the microbial ocean. Aquat Microb Ecol 76:189-194. https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01777
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