Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change
Tropical coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems, despite being surrounded by ocean waters where nutrients are in short supply. Benthic dinitrogen (N2) fixation is a significant internal source of “new” nitrogen (N) in reef ecosystems, but related information appears to be s...
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2014
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ftleibnizopen:oai:oai.leibnizopen.de:gvU9-IYBdbrxVwz63TiP 2023-05-15T17:51:00+02:00 Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change Cardini, Ulisse Bednarz, Vanessa N. Foster, Rachel A. Wild, Christian 2014 https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6403033 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1050 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4063469/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.1050#support-information-section eng eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Ecology and evolution, 4(9): 1706–1727 deoxygenation Coral reefs ocean acidification cyanobacteria ultraviolet radiation stress diazotrophs fixation symbiosis 2014 ftleibnizopen https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1050 2023-03-20T00:06:36Z Tropical coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems, despite being surrounded by ocean waters where nutrients are in short supply. Benthic dinitrogen (N2) fixation is a significant internal source of “new” nitrogen (N) in reef ecosystems, but related information appears to be sparse. Here, we review the current state (and gaps) of knowledge on N2 fixation associated with coral reef organisms and their ecosystems. By summarizing the existing literature, we show that benthic N2 fixation is an omnipresent process in tropical reef environments. Highest N2 fixation rates are detected in reef-associated cyanobacterial mats and sea grass meadows, clearly showing the significance of these functional groups, if present, to the input of new N in reef ecosystems. Nonetheless, key benthic organisms such as hard corals also importantly contribute to benthic N2 fixation in the reef. Given the usually high coral coverage of healthy reef systems, these results indicate that benthic symbiotic associations may be more important than previously thought. In fact, mutualisms between carbon (C) and N2 fixers have likely evolved that may enable reef communities to mitigate N limitation. We then explore the potential effects of the increasing human interferences on the process of benthic reef N2 fixation via changes in diazotrophic populations, enzymatic activities, or availability of benthic substrates favorable to these microorganisms. Current knowledge indicates positive effects of ocean acidification, warming, and deoxygenation and negative effects of increased ultraviolet radiation on the amount of N fixed in coral reefs. Eutrophication may either boost or suppress N2 fixation, depending on the nutrient becoming limiting. As N2 fixation appears to play a fundamental role in nutrient-limited reef ecosystems, these assumptions need to be expanded and confirmed by future research efforts addressing the knowledge gaps identified in this review. Other/Unknown Material Ocean acidification LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association) Ecology and Evolution 4 9 1706 1727 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
LeibnizOpen (The Leibniz Association) |
op_collection_id |
ftleibnizopen |
language |
English |
topic |
deoxygenation Coral reefs ocean acidification cyanobacteria ultraviolet radiation stress diazotrophs fixation symbiosis |
spellingShingle |
deoxygenation Coral reefs ocean acidification cyanobacteria ultraviolet radiation stress diazotrophs fixation symbiosis Cardini, Ulisse Bednarz, Vanessa N. Foster, Rachel A. Wild, Christian Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change |
topic_facet |
deoxygenation Coral reefs ocean acidification cyanobacteria ultraviolet radiation stress diazotrophs fixation symbiosis |
description |
Tropical coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems, despite being surrounded by ocean waters where nutrients are in short supply. Benthic dinitrogen (N2) fixation is a significant internal source of “new” nitrogen (N) in reef ecosystems, but related information appears to be sparse. Here, we review the current state (and gaps) of knowledge on N2 fixation associated with coral reef organisms and their ecosystems. By summarizing the existing literature, we show that benthic N2 fixation is an omnipresent process in tropical reef environments. Highest N2 fixation rates are detected in reef-associated cyanobacterial mats and sea grass meadows, clearly showing the significance of these functional groups, if present, to the input of new N in reef ecosystems. Nonetheless, key benthic organisms such as hard corals also importantly contribute to benthic N2 fixation in the reef. Given the usually high coral coverage of healthy reef systems, these results indicate that benthic symbiotic associations may be more important than previously thought. In fact, mutualisms between carbon (C) and N2 fixers have likely evolved that may enable reef communities to mitigate N limitation. We then explore the potential effects of the increasing human interferences on the process of benthic reef N2 fixation via changes in diazotrophic populations, enzymatic activities, or availability of benthic substrates favorable to these microorganisms. Current knowledge indicates positive effects of ocean acidification, warming, and deoxygenation and negative effects of increased ultraviolet radiation on the amount of N fixed in coral reefs. Eutrophication may either boost or suppress N2 fixation, depending on the nutrient becoming limiting. As N2 fixation appears to play a fundamental role in nutrient-limited reef ecosystems, these assumptions need to be expanded and confirmed by future research efforts addressing the knowledge gaps identified in this review. |
author |
Cardini, Ulisse Bednarz, Vanessa N. Foster, Rachel A. Wild, Christian |
author_facet |
Cardini, Ulisse Bednarz, Vanessa N. Foster, Rachel A. Wild, Christian |
author_sort |
Cardini, Ulisse |
title |
Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change |
title_short |
Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change |
title_full |
Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change |
title_fullStr |
Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change |
title_full_unstemmed |
Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change |
title_sort |
benthic n2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6403033 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1050 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4063469/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.1050#support-information-section |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Ecology and evolution, 4(9): 1706–1727 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1050 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1706 |
op_container_end_page |
1727 |
_version_ |
1766157958169755648 |