Switches between nitrogen limitation and nitrogen–phosphorus co‐limitation in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: Limnology and Oceanography
• Main Authors: Yuan, Zhongwei, Achterberg, Eric P., Engel, Anja, Dai, Minhan, Browning, Thomas J.
• Other Authors: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2024
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lno.12541; https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/lno.12541

Abstract Concentrations of bioavailable inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are simultaneously depleted in the (sub)tropical North Atlantic Ocean, but it remains unclear if phytoplankton growth rates are N limited or N–P co‐limited. Here we present findings from three bottle‐scale experiments using a four‐by‐four matrix of low‐level N and P additions, conducted at one site in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. Phytoplankton responses were assessed both in terms of bulk chlorophyll a (Chl a ) concentrations and intracellular Chl a of dominant Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus groups. Two matrix experiments suggested that N was independently limiting in situ growth, with no co‐limiting role for P, while the third showed co‐limitation by both N and P in this region. This switch from N limitation to N–P co‐limitation was attributed to an episodic wet deposition event that supplied N, thereby stimulating phytoplankton growth and consuming available P. Such rapid transitions in nutrient limitation in response to environmental forcing might be common in oceanic systems with multiple depleted nutrients.