Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea
Major changes to Arctic marine ecosystems have resulted in longer growing seasons with increased phytoplankton production over larger areas. In the Chukchi Sea, the high productivity fuels intense benthic denitrification creating a nitrogen (N) deficit that is transported through the Arctic to the A...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c605b0de1bae48afa7bee0ebebdac252 2023-05-15T14:59:22+02:00 Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea Matthew M. Mills Zachary W. Brown Samuel R. Laney Eva Ortega-Retuerta Kate E. Lowry Gert L. van Dijken Kevin R. Arrigo 2018-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00362 https://doaj.org/article/c605b0de1bae48afa7bee0ebebdac252 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00362/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00362 https://doaj.org/article/c605b0de1bae48afa7bee0ebebdac252 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 5 (2018) phytoplankton nitrogen Chukchi Sea nitrate nutrient limitation Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00362 2022-12-31T01:09:40Z Major changes to Arctic marine ecosystems have resulted in longer growing seasons with increased phytoplankton production over larger areas. In the Chukchi Sea, the high productivity fuels intense benthic denitrification creating a nitrogen (N) deficit that is transported through the Arctic to the Atlantic Ocean, where it likely fuels N fixation. Given the rapid pace of environmental change and the potentially globally significant N deficit, we conducted experiments aimed at understanding phytoplankton and microbial N utilization in the Chukchi Sea. Ship-board experiments tested the effect of nitrate (NO3-) additions on both phytoplankton and heterotrophic prokaryote abundance, community composition, photophysiology, carbon fixation and NO3- uptake rates. Results support the critical role of NO3- in limiting summer phytoplankton communities to small cells with low production rates. NO3- additions increased particulate concentrations, abundance of large diatoms, and rates of carbon fixation and NO3- uptake by cells >1 μm. Increases in the quantum yield and electron turnover rate of photosystem II in +NO3- treatments suggested that phytoplankton in the ambient dissolved N environment were N starved and unable to build new, or repair damaged, reaction centers. While some increases in heterotrophic prokaryote abundance and production were noted with NO3- amendments, phytoplankton competition or grazers likely dampened these responses. Trends toward a warmer more stratified Chukchi Sea will likely enhance summer oligotrophic conditions and further N starve Chukchi Sea phytoplankton communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Chukchi Chukchi Sea Phytoplankton Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Chukchi Sea Frontiers in Marine Science 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
phytoplankton nitrogen Chukchi Sea nitrate nutrient limitation Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
phytoplankton nitrogen Chukchi Sea nitrate nutrient limitation Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Matthew M. Mills Zachary W. Brown Samuel R. Laney Eva Ortega-Retuerta Kate E. Lowry Gert L. van Dijken Kevin R. Arrigo Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea |
topic_facet |
phytoplankton nitrogen Chukchi Sea nitrate nutrient limitation Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Major changes to Arctic marine ecosystems have resulted in longer growing seasons with increased phytoplankton production over larger areas. In the Chukchi Sea, the high productivity fuels intense benthic denitrification creating a nitrogen (N) deficit that is transported through the Arctic to the Atlantic Ocean, where it likely fuels N fixation. Given the rapid pace of environmental change and the potentially globally significant N deficit, we conducted experiments aimed at understanding phytoplankton and microbial N utilization in the Chukchi Sea. Ship-board experiments tested the effect of nitrate (NO3-) additions on both phytoplankton and heterotrophic prokaryote abundance, community composition, photophysiology, carbon fixation and NO3- uptake rates. Results support the critical role of NO3- in limiting summer phytoplankton communities to small cells with low production rates. NO3- additions increased particulate concentrations, abundance of large diatoms, and rates of carbon fixation and NO3- uptake by cells >1 μm. Increases in the quantum yield and electron turnover rate of photosystem II in +NO3- treatments suggested that phytoplankton in the ambient dissolved N environment were N starved and unable to build new, or repair damaged, reaction centers. While some increases in heterotrophic prokaryote abundance and production were noted with NO3- amendments, phytoplankton competition or grazers likely dampened these responses. Trends toward a warmer more stratified Chukchi Sea will likely enhance summer oligotrophic conditions and further N starve Chukchi Sea phytoplankton communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Matthew M. Mills Zachary W. Brown Samuel R. Laney Eva Ortega-Retuerta Kate E. Lowry Gert L. van Dijken Kevin R. Arrigo |
author_facet |
Matthew M. Mills Zachary W. Brown Samuel R. Laney Eva Ortega-Retuerta Kate E. Lowry Gert L. van Dijken Kevin R. Arrigo |
author_sort |
Matthew M. Mills |
title |
Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea |
title_short |
Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea |
title_full |
Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea |
title_fullStr |
Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nitrogen Limitation of the Summer Phytoplankton and Heterotrophic Prokaryote Communities in the Chukchi Sea |
title_sort |
nitrogen limitation of the summer phytoplankton and heterotrophic prokaryote communities in the chukchi sea |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00362 https://doaj.org/article/c605b0de1bae48afa7bee0ebebdac252 |
geographic |
Arctic Chukchi Sea |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Chukchi Sea |
genre |
Arctic Chukchi Chukchi Sea Phytoplankton |
genre_facet |
Arctic Chukchi Chukchi Sea Phytoplankton |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 5 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00362/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00362 https://doaj.org/article/c605b0de1bae48afa7bee0ebebdac252 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00362 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
5 |
_version_ |
1766331474329468928 |