The role of organic nutrients in structuring freshwater phytoplankton communities in a rapidly changing world

Reinl, Kaitlin L.; Harris, Theodore D.; Elfferich, Inge; Coker, Ayooluwateso; Zhan, Qing; Domis, Lisette de Senerpont; Morales‐Williams, Ana M.; Bhattacharya, Ruchi; Grossart, Hans‐Peter; North, Rebecca L.; Sweetman, Jon N.

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2022.118573

Cited by 41 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 187 publications

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“…In aquatic ecosystems, the DIN pool (primarily nitrate and ammonia) has historically been thought to be preferred by autotrophs (Morris and Lewis 1988; Bronk et al 2007; Bradley et al 2010). However, DON pools in lakes are complex, comprising a variety of N forms with different reactivities, chemical complexities, and biological availabilities (Mackay et al 2020; Wymore et al 2021; Reinl et al 2022). As a result, treating N pools as inorganic or total often oversimplifies the movement and transformation between various N pools and can mask the availability of DON as a primary N source for phytoplankton (Berman and Bronk 2003; Mackay et al 2020; Wymore et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mutualism between heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton might help explain some of these similar responses. Organic nutrients can be mineralized by the phytoplankton's microbiome and rapidly assimilated by phytoplankton (Reinl et al 2022). In addition, isolated or cultured phytoplankton taxa can have varying growth rates under different N forms with some taxa growing best in the presence of DON (Berg et al 2003; Fiedler et al 2015; Erratt et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutrient function over form: Organic and inorganic nitrogen additions have similar effects on lake phytoplankton nutrient limitation

Volponi

Wander

Richardson

et al. 2022

Limnology & Oceanography

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The concentration of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is increasing in many northern hemisphere lakes, yet its use by phytoplankton and fate in the environment seldom have been quantified. We conducted 1 week, in situ, microcosm incubations across 25 lakes in northeastern North America to understand how DON, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (P) affected phytoplankton biomass. In addition, we tested whether lakes were limited by single macronutrients (N or P) or colimited by both. Phytoplankton biomass in 80% of lakes responded similarly to DON and DIN additions. Of the lakes where N form produced differential responses, the majority of phytoplankton communities exhibited greater biomass accumulation with DON than DIN. Colimitation was the most common type of nutrient limitation among the study lakes, followed by P limitation. Limitation type shifted with N form in 40% of the study lakes, but without consistent patterns explaining how shifts occurred. Regardless of N form, lakes with watersheds more dominated by agriculture and higher total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) tended to show P‐limited phytoplankton responses, while lakes with less agricultural watersheds and lower TDN tended to show colimited phytoplankton responses. Finally, ambient TDN and total phosphorus (TP) nutrient concentrations were stronger predictors of limitation type than ambient TDN : TP ratios. The different contributions of DON and DIN to phytoplankton biomass in some of our study lakes suggest that DON loading from surrounding watersheds may be an overlooked component in predicting phytoplankton productivity and nutrient limitation dynamics in freshwater ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient function over form: Organic and inorganic nitrogen additions have similar effects on lake phytoplankton nutrient limitation

Volponi

Wander

Richardson

et al. 2022

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…Mixotrophy appears for taxa from miscellaneous functional groups of phytoplankton, including haptophytes (2,4,6), green algae (5,7,8), dinoflagellates (9), cyanobacteria (10), cryptophytes (11) and diatoms (12). Combining autotrophic and heterotrophic mechanisms might enable an efficient uptake of carbon and required nutrients such as N, P or amino acids (13,14). Mixotrophic phytoplankton can achieve higher biomass yields in the presence of organic carbon compared to autotrophic conditions (15,16), which is made use of in bioengineering (17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Combining autotrophic and heterotrophic mechanisms might enable an efficient uptake of carbon and required nutrients such as N, P or amino acids (13,14). Mixotrophic phytoplankton can achieve higher biomass yields in the presence of organic carbon compared to autotrophic conditions (15,16), which is made use of in bioengineering (17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic compounds drive growth in phytoplankton taxa from different functional groups

Martens,

Ehlert,

Putri

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Phytoplankton are usually considered autotrophs by default, but an increasing number of studies shows that many taxa are able to also utilise organic carbon. Acquiring nutrients and energy from different sources might enable an efficient uptake of required substances and provide a strategy to deal with a varying resource availability, especially in highly dynamic ecosystems such as estuaries. In our study we investigated the effects of 31 organic carbon sources on the growth of 17 phytoplankton strains from the Elbe estuary spanning four functional groups. All of our strains were able to make use of at least 1 and up to 26 organic compounds for growth. Pico-sized green algae such asMychonastes, ChoricystisandChlorella, as well as nano-sized green algae from the genusMonoraphidiumin particular were positively affected by a high variety of substances. Reduced light availability, typically appearing in turbid estuaries and similar habitats, resulted in an overall poorer ability to utilise organic substances for growth, indicating that organic carbon acquisition was not primarily a specific strategy to deal with darkness. Our results give further evidence for mixotrophy being an ubiquitous ability of phytoplankton and highlight the importance to consider this trophic strategy in research.

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“…DOM serves as a source of nutrients, including carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) to the lakes, where an increased influx can trigger microbial respiration and increase greenhouse gas emissions from lakes (Sadro and Melack 2012) and may diminish in-lake primary productivity by limiting light (Kirk 1994, Morris et al 1995. The complex DOM molecules may also be photo-oxidized, and the resulting breakdown products can further serve as a nutrient source for algal growth and potentially advance toxin-producing cyanobacterial blooms (Orihel et al 2017;Reinl et al 2022). Similarly, particulate organic matter (POM), either transported from the watershed or produced autochthonously, can be remineralized and contribute to the aquatic C cycle (Piirsoo et al 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear multidecadal trends in organic matter dynamics in Midwest reservoirs are a function of variable hydroclimate

Bhattacharya

Jones

Graham

et al. 2022

Limnology & Oceanography

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Dissolved organic matter (DOM) and particulate organic matter (POM) can influence biogeochemical processes in aquatic systems. An understanding, however, of the source, composition, and processes driving inland reservoir organic matter (OM) cycling at a regional scale over the long term is currently unexplored. Here, we quantify decadal patterns (> 20 yr) of DOM quantity and composition and POM in 40 reservoirs in the midcontinent United States. We built 184 Random Forest models to identify how the relative influence of watershed characteristics and limnological parameters on OM dynamics may vary over time and in synchrony with hydroclimatic anomalies. The reservoir OM quantity and composition varied nonmonotonically through time and in contrast to lake browning observed in the northern hemisphere. Reservoir DOM composition switched from humic and aromatic during wet summers to aliphatic, potentially autochthonous DOM during particularly prolonged dry summers in the mid-2000s. The shift in reservoir DOM quantity and composition could be attributed to the change in time-varying control of watershed and limnological factors mediated by the hydroclimatic conditions. Watershed control (e.g., percent crops) was predominant during wet summers, while the effect of reservoir morphology (e.g., maximum depth) and water quality parameters (e.g., Secchi depth, chlorophyll a) were evident during dry summers. Thus, future predictions of drier conditions may promote "greening" with negative implications for reservoir water quality and treated drinking water. Considering the nonlinear nature of reservoir OM dynamics and its controls will help to better mitigate water quality issues in these constructed systems increasingly impacted by global changes.

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The role of organic nutrients in structuring freshwater phytoplankton communities in a rapidly changing world

Cited by 41 publications

References 187 publications

Nutrient function over form: Organic and inorganic nitrogen additions have similar effects on lake phytoplankton nutrient limitation

Nutrient function over form: Organic and inorganic nitrogen additions have similar effects on lake phytoplankton nutrient limitation

Organic compounds drive growth in phytoplankton taxa from different functional groups

Nonlinear multidecadal trends in organic matter dynamics in Midwest reservoirs are a function of variable hydroclimate

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