Rapid ammonium cycling and concentration‐dependent partitioning of ammonium and phosphate: Implications for carbon transfer in planktonic communities

Suttle, Curtis A.; Fuhrman, Jed A.; Capone, Douglas G.

doi:10.4319/lo.1990.35.2.0424

Cited by 112 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In contrast, phytoplankton are expected to sequester an increasing fraction of available nutrients with increasing trophic state as a result of their larger cell size (Cotner and Biddanda 2002). Several studies have demonstrated that the ability of phytoplankton to take up P and accumulate higher intercellular P levels is either comparable (Vadstein et al 1989) or superior to the ability of bacteria (Suttle et al 1990;Cotner and Wetzel 1992;Thingstad et al 1993).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Irradiance level, Chl a, and DOC concentrations and planktonic community respiration (CR), bacterial respiration (BR), bacterial contribution to planktonic community respiration (BR : CR), and phytoplankton respiration (PR) for the experimental systems studied in the three light-nutrient interaction experiments. quire an increased fraction of the available nutrients as nutrient availability increases (Suttle et al 1987;Cotner and Biddanda 2002). Under such conditions, the nutrient uptake capacity of small bacterial cells is likely to become saturated.…”

Section: Light-nutrient Interaction Experiments-skaneatelesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutrient and light availability regulate the relative contribution of autotrophs and heterotrophs to respiration in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

Roberts

Howarth

2006

Limnol. Oceanogr.

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In this study, two main hypotheses were addressed. (1) Bacteria contribute proportionally less than autotrophs to ecosystem respiration as trophic status increases. This hypothesis was examined in a pond phosphorus-fertilization experiment and two microcosm nutrient-fertilization experiments. (2) The relative contribution of autotrophs to ecosystem respiration, at a given nutrient availability, increases as light availability increases. This hypothesis was tested in three light by nutrient factorial microcosm experiments. Rates of total plankton community, bacterial (Ͻ1 m fraction), and phytoplankton (total Ϫ bacterial) respiration all increased as nutrient availability increased. The contribution of bacteria to community respiration ranged between ϳ10 and 90%, with the highest contribution occurring under the most oligotrophic conditions. As light availability increased within each nutrient availability treatment, there was a similar decline in the contribution of bacteria to community respiration. Under oligotrophic conditions bacteria are better competitors for nutrients that limit both autotrophs and heterotrophs, but as nutrient availability increases, conditions become increasingly favorable for larger celled phytoplankton that have higher maximal nutrient uptake rates. As light availability increases, the relative contribution of phytoplankton to ecosystem respiration also increases. Light and nutrient availability are important regulators of the relative contributions of autotrophs and heterotrophs to ecosystem respiration, but the observed patterns are primarily driven by changes in phytoplankton production rates.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Light-nutrient Interaction Experiments-skaneatelesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient and light availability regulate the relative contribution of autotrophs and heterotrophs to respiration in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

Roberts

Howarth

2006

Limnol. Oceanogr.

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“…In the oligotrophic oceans the extreme scarcity of organisms leads to much longer turnover times. Suttle et al (1990) suggested that values of 2-5 h indicated P deficiency in the Sargasso Sea. Based on the supporting data we have, we propose that values up to 7 h indicate P deficiency in the eastern Mediterranean.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Suttle et al 1990). In our study, bacterial-size particles (cl pm) dominated the cycling of P in the upper mixed layer of P-deficient areas of the eastern Mediterranean, accounting for 60-85% of P uptake (Table 2, Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental study of microbial P limitation in the eastern Mediterranean

Zohary

Robarts

1998

Limnology & Oceanography

195

128

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In this study we experimentally tested the hypothesis that phosphorus was the primary nutrient limiting phytoplankton and bacterial growth in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and examined the spatial variability in P limitation during winter. Complementary measurements were employed using water sampled during January 1995 from nine pelagic stations east of the Straits of Sicily. Ambient concentrations of inorganic P (P,) in the upper 50 m of the water column in seven of the stations were 20-40 nM. The upper limit of bioavailable P ranged from 6 to 18 nM, suggesting severe P shortage. Orthophosphate turnover time ranged from 2 to 7 h in those P,-depleted waters. In nutrient-enrichment bioassays using subsurface water from the Ionian and Levantine basins, P addition caused significant increases in bacterial activity, bacterial numbers, and chlorophyll a relative to unenriched controls. The addition of NH,' + Fe + EDTA did not have these effects. In a similar bioassay using Cretan water, microbial growth was obtained even in the unemriched controls, suggesting that other factors (e.g. grazing, light) were influential. Higher ambient P, concentrations were encountered in the Cretan Sea (90 nM) and in the core of the Rhodes gyre (210 nM), where our sampling coincided with a convective mixing event. In those stations, P sufticiency was indicated. We concluded that in the pelagic waters of the eastern Mediterranean in winter, P was the primary limiting nutrient when other factors (such as light or grazing) did not control microbial biomass or activity. In ultra-oligotrophic waters, a delicate and dynamic balance differentiates between times when the microbial populations are nutrient limited and times when growth becomes limited by other factors. We caution that the interpretation of data obtained using conventional methods that were developed and tested in more enriched systems may not be valid in ultra-oligotrophic systems.

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“…These conditions (i.e., nitrogen or phosphorus limitation) can create situations where heterotrophic prokaryotes will compete with phytoplankton for dissolved inorganic nutrients available in the surrounding water. Indeed, laboratory experiments have indicated that bacteria can compete effectively with primary producers for NO , NH or PO under these circumstances Ϫ ϩ Ϫ 3 3 4 4 (Currie and Kalff 1984;Bratbak and Thingstad 1985;Suttle et al 1990). Given this ability, one recent survey indicated that the number of field studies demonstrating the uptake of inorganic nitrogen or phosphorus by bacteria has increased as the ecological consequences of this behavior have been recognized by the scientific community (Kirchman 1994).…”

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confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation of phosphorus limitation of bacterial growth in a small lake

Carlsson¹,

Caron

2001

Limnology & Oceanography

105

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A series of bioassay experiments were performed from spring to autumn in a small dimictic lake (Deep Pond, Massachusetts) to examine the potential for bacterial growth limitation by organic carbon (glucose), inorganic nutrients (ammonium or phosphate), or both. The experiments demonstrated that phosphorus was the primary element limiting bacterial growth in Deep Pond during a large part of the summer. Significant increases (relative to controls) in bacterial cell volumes, protein production rates, and abundances were observed during 24-h incubations for samples amended with phosphate alone. Organic carbon was near colimitation for most of the samples, however, and dramatic increases in bacterial abundance and rates of protein production were obtained only when both substances (phosphate and glucose) were added together. There was no evidence for nitrogen limitation of bacterial growth during the study. Temperature was not an important determinant for bacterial production rates above 12ЊC, but below 12ЊC temperature acted to mute the effect of nutrient and organic carbon additions on production rates. Bacterial growth was not significantly increased by the addition of any combination of glucose, ammonium, or phosphate below 12ЊC. A significant, albeit complex, effect of the microbial community on the bacterial response to nutrient/carbon enrichment was apparent in the samples. Substrate/nutrient supply and biomass removal by bacterivores both appeared to play a role in the outcome of the experiments.Pelagic heterotrophic bacteria play a fundamental role in aquatic ecosystems as regulators of the cycling of carbon and important nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Bacteria are the major consumers of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the plankton. As such, they play vital roles in the recovery of organic matter, from detritus to living biomass, or in its remineralization back into inorganic compounds (Ducklow and Carlson 1992;Shiah and Ducklow 1994).Bacterial growth and biomass in aquatic ecosystems are regulated by a number of factors, such as temperature (Shiah and Ducklow 1994), predation (Caron 1991), substrate supply (organic and inorganic nutrients) (Cole et al. 1988;Rivkin and Anderson 1997), and viral infections (Proctor and Fuhrman 1992). The relatively low variability of bacterial abundance in aquatic ecosystems has given rise to the speculation that bacterial abundance is rather tightly regulated by the different gain and loss factors operating on bacteria (Sanders et al. 1992).Traditionally, organic carbon (for energy) has been considered the main factor limiting heterotrophic bacterial growth in pelagic environments. More recently, however, several investigators have demonstrated that bacterial growth in aquatic ecosystems can be limited by the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus rather than the supply of organic 1 Corresponding author (per.carlsson@hik.se). AcknowledgmentsThis work was supported by a postdoctoral grant to P.C. by the Swedish National Research Council (NFR, B-PD 108...

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Rapid ammonium cycling and concentration‐dependent partitioning of ammonium and phosphate: Implications for carbon transfer in planktonic communities

Cited by 112 publications

References 11 publications

Nutrient and light availability regulate the relative contribution of autotrophs and heterotrophs to respiration in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

Nutrient and light availability regulate the relative contribution of autotrophs and heterotrophs to respiration in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

Experimental study of microbial P limitation in the eastern Mediterranean

Seasonal variation of phosphorus limitation of bacterial growth in a small lake

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