Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model
The widely used concept of constant ”Redfield” phytoplankton stoichiometry is often applied for estimating which nutrient limits phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Culture experiments, in contrast, show strong relations between growth conditions and cellular stoichiometry with often substant...
Published in: | Global Biogeochemical Cycles |
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:25427 2023-05-15T18:25:47+02:00 Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model Arteaga, Lionel Pahlow, Markus Oschlies, Andreas 2014-08-11 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25427/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25427/1/gbc20173.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GB004668 en eng AGU (American Geophysical Union) Wiley https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25427/1/gbc20173.pdf Arteaga, L., Pahlow, M. and Oschlies, A. (2014) Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model. Open Access Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 28 (7). pp. 648-661. DOI 10.1002/2013GB004668 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GB004668>. doi:10.1002/2013GB004668 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2014 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GB004668 2023-04-07T15:14:04Z The widely used concept of constant ”Redfield” phytoplankton stoichiometry is often applied for estimating which nutrient limits phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Culture experiments, in contrast, show strong relations between growth conditions and cellular stoichiometry with often substantial deviations from Redfield stoichiometry. Here we investigate to what extent both views agree by analyzing remote sensing and in situ data with an optimality-based model of nondiazotrophic phytoplankton growth in order to infer seasonally varying patterns of colimitation by light, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in the global ocean. Our combined model-data analysis suggests strong N and N-P colimitation in the tropical ocean, seasonal light, and N-P colimitation in the Northern Hemisphere, and strong light limitation only during winter in the Southern Ocean. The eastern equatorial Pacific appears as the only ocean area that is essentially not limited by N, P, or light. Even though our optimality-based approach specifically accounts for flexible stoichiometry, inferred patterns of N and P limitation are to some extent consistent with those obtained from an analysis of surface inorganic nutrients with respect to the Redfield N:P ratio. Iron is not part of our analysis, implying that we cannot accurately predict N cell quotas in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions. Elsewhere, we do not expect a major effect of iron on the relative distribution of N, P, and light colimitation areas. The relative importance of N, P, and light in limiting phytoplankton growth diagnosed here by combining observations and an optimal growth model provides a useful constraint for models used to predict future marine biological production under changing environmental conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Pacific Southern Ocean Global Biogeochemical Cycles 28 7 648 661 |
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OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
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ftoceanrep |
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English |
description |
The widely used concept of constant ”Redfield” phytoplankton stoichiometry is often applied for estimating which nutrient limits phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Culture experiments, in contrast, show strong relations between growth conditions and cellular stoichiometry with often substantial deviations from Redfield stoichiometry. Here we investigate to what extent both views agree by analyzing remote sensing and in situ data with an optimality-based model of nondiazotrophic phytoplankton growth in order to infer seasonally varying patterns of colimitation by light, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in the global ocean. Our combined model-data analysis suggests strong N and N-P colimitation in the tropical ocean, seasonal light, and N-P colimitation in the Northern Hemisphere, and strong light limitation only during winter in the Southern Ocean. The eastern equatorial Pacific appears as the only ocean area that is essentially not limited by N, P, or light. Even though our optimality-based approach specifically accounts for flexible stoichiometry, inferred patterns of N and P limitation are to some extent consistent with those obtained from an analysis of surface inorganic nutrients with respect to the Redfield N:P ratio. Iron is not part of our analysis, implying that we cannot accurately predict N cell quotas in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions. Elsewhere, we do not expect a major effect of iron on the relative distribution of N, P, and light colimitation areas. The relative importance of N, P, and light in limiting phytoplankton growth diagnosed here by combining observations and an optimal growth model provides a useful constraint for models used to predict future marine biological production under changing environmental conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Arteaga, Lionel Pahlow, Markus Oschlies, Andreas |
spellingShingle |
Arteaga, Lionel Pahlow, Markus Oschlies, Andreas Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model |
author_facet |
Arteaga, Lionel Pahlow, Markus Oschlies, Andreas |
author_sort |
Arteaga, Lionel |
title |
Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model |
title_short |
Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model |
title_full |
Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model |
title_fullStr |
Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model |
title_sort |
global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model |
publisher |
AGU (American Geophysical Union) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25427/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25427/1/gbc20173.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GB004668 |
geographic |
Pacific Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25427/1/gbc20173.pdf Arteaga, L., Pahlow, M. and Oschlies, A. (2014) Global patterns of phytoplankton nutrient and light colimitation inferred from an optimality-based model. Open Access Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 28 (7). pp. 648-661. DOI 10.1002/2013GB004668 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GB004668>. doi:10.1002/2013GB004668 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GB004668 |
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Global Biogeochemical Cycles |
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28 |
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7 |
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