Seven Vibrio strains and three consortia, each given alginate particles as the sole carbon source. Broadcasters — which release enzymes into the water — outpace aggregators, which keep enzymes at the cell surface.
Secretion strategy determines individual strain degradation efficiency. Volume reduction (%) of alginate particles after ~218 h of incubation with individual Vibrio strains and functional consortia in MMM-0-NC medium, alginate as the sole carbon source. Each small dot is one tracked particle; the large circle with error bars shows mean ± s.e.m. Strains are grouped by enzyme-secretion phenotype — broadcasters (12B01, 13B01, 1F157), aggregators (ZF270, 9ZC77, 9ZC13, ZF57) — and three consortia: broadcaster (BC), aggregator (AC) and full community (FC). Volume reduction assumes spherical geometry. The dashed line marks 50% reduction. Dots, mean markers and error bars draw in sequence as the figure is viewed; in this static preview the final state is shown.