Ocean warming alleviates iron limitation of marine nitrogen fixation

Jiang, Haibo; Fu, Fei-Xue; Rivero‐Calle, Sara; Levine, Naomi M.; Sañudo‐Wilhelmy, Sergio A.; Qu, Pingping; Wang, Xinwei; Pinedo‐González, Paulina; Zhu, Zhu; Hutchins, David A.

doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0216-8

Cited by 75 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In this meta-analysis, the decrease in P:C in cyanobacteria at elevated temperatures (Fig. 4) is possibly attributable to a combination of these three hypotheses (Fu et al, 2014;Jiang et al, 2018;Martiny et al, 2016), as they are likely not mutually exclusive.…”

Section: Temperaturementioning

confidence: 78%

A meta-analysis on environmental drivers of marine phytoplankton C : N : P

Tanioka¹,

Matsumoto²

2019

Preprint

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Abstract. The elemental stoichiometry of marine phytoplankton plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle through carbon export. Although extensive laboratory experiments have been carried out over the years to assess the influence of different environmental drivers on the elemental composition of phytoplankton, a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the processes is still lacking. Here, we synthesized the responses of P : C and N : C ratios of marine phytoplankton to five major drivers (phosphate and nitrate, irradiance, temperature, and iron) by meta-analysis of laboratory experimental data available in the literature. Our results show that the response of the ratios to changes in macronutrients is consistent across all the studies, where the nutrient availability is positively related to changes in P : C and N : C ratios. We found that diatoms are more sensitive to the changes in macronutrients compared to other eukaryotes and cyanobacteria, possibly due to their larger cell size and their abilities to quickly regulate their gene expression patterns required for nutrient uptake. The effect of irradiance on P : C was mixed and not significant, but the same effect on N : C was significant and constant across all studies where an increase in irradiance decreased N : C. The response to temperature changes was mixed by species, except warming consistently decreased P : C ratio in cyanobacteria. This may explain why P : C is consistently low in the cyanobacteria-dominated subtropical oceans. The effect of iron on P : C and N : C for cyanobacteria were statistically significant but the small sample size precludes drawing firm conclusions. Overall, our findings highlight the high stoichiometric plasticity of diatoms and the importance of macronutrients in determining P : C and N : C ratios, which both provide us insights on how to understand and model plankton diversity and productivity.

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Section: Temperaturementioning

confidence: 78%

A meta-analysis on environmental drivers of marine phytoplankton C : N : P

Tanioka¹,

Matsumoto²

2019

Preprint

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“…Much of the ocean where diazotrophs live is believed to be P‐limited and/or Fe‐limited (Sañudo‐Wilhelmy et al ; Mills et al ; Fu et al ; Hutchins and Boyd ). Furthermore, marine diazotrophs will encounter other challenges caused by global change that may also have unrecognized interactions with each other and with UV radiation, including warming, changes in Fe supplies, elevated CO 2 concentration, and ocean acidification (Hutchins and Fu ; Jiang et al ). Future research should consider the interactive effects of all of these multiple environmental stressors for better estimation of the responses of diazotrophs to UV radiation, in order to allow more accurate predictions of the consequences for the marine food webs and biogeochemistry of the present day and future ocean.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between ultraviolet radiation exposure and phosphorus limitation in the marine nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria Trichodesmium and Crocosphaera

Zhu

et al. 2019

Limnology & Oceanography

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Increased stratification and mixed layer shoaling of the surface ocean resulting from warming can lead to exposure of marine dinitrogen (N2)‐fixing cyanobacteria to higher levels of inhibitory ultraviolet (UV) radiation. These same processes also reduce vertically advected supplies of the potentially limiting nutrient phosphorus (P) to N2 fixers. It is currently unknown how UV inhibition and P limitation interact to affect the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and carbon in these biogeochemically critical microbes. We investigated the responses of the important and widespread marine N2‐fixing cyanobacteria Crocosphaera (strain WH0005) and Trichodesmium (strains IMS 101 and GBR) to UV‐A and UV‐B under P‐replete and P‐limited conditions. Growth, N2 fixation, and carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation rates of Trichodesmium IMS 101 and Crocosphaera were negatively affected by UV exposure. This inhibition was greater for Trichodesmium IMS 101 than for Crocosphaera, which fixes N2 only during the night and so avoids direct UV damage. Negative effects of UV on both IMS 101 and Crocosphaera were less in P‐limited cultures than in P‐replete cultures. In contrast, no UV inhibition was observed in GBR, regardless of P availability. UV inhibition was related to different amounts of UV‐absorbing compounds produced by these isolates. Responses to UV radiation and P availability interactions were taxon‐specific, but our results indicated that in general, UV radiation effects on Trichodesmium and Crocosphaera range from negative to neutral. UV inhibition and its interactions with P limitation may thus have a substantial influence on the present day and future nitrogen and carbon cycles of the ocean.

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“…Increased ocean temperatures, acidification and decreased nutrient supplies are projected to increase the extracellular release of dissolved organic matter from phytoplankton, with changes in the microbial loop possibly causing increased microbial production at the expense of higher trophic levels 122 . Warming can also alleviate iron limitation of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, with potentially profound implications for new nitrogen supplied to food webs of the future warming oceans 123 . Careful attention needs to be paid to how to quantify and interpret responses of environmental microorganisms to ecosystem changes and stresses linked to climate change 124,125 .…”

Section: Climate Change Affects Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

et al. 2019

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| In the Anthropocene, in which we now live, climate change is impacting most life on Earth. Microorganisms support the existence of all higher trophic life forms. To understand how humans and other life forms on Earth (including those we are yet to discover) can withstand anthropogenic climate change, it is vital to incorporate knowledge of the microbial 'unseen majority'. We must learn not just how microorganisms affect climate change (including production and consumption of greenhouse gases) but also how they will be affected by climate change and other human activities. This Consensus Statement documents the central role and global importance of microorganisms in climate change biology. It also puts humanity on notice that the impact of climate change will depend heavily on responses of microorganisms, which are essential for achieving an environmentally sustainable future.

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Ocean warming alleviates iron limitation of marine nitrogen fixation

Cited by 75 publications

References 25 publications

A meta-analysis on environmental drivers of marine phytoplankton C : N : P

A meta-analysis on environmental drivers of marine phytoplankton C : N : P

Interactions between ultraviolet radiation exposure and phosphorus limitation in the marine nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria Trichodesmium and Crocosphaera

Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change

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