Multiple environmental controls on phytoplankton growth strategies determine adaptive responses of the N : P ratio
The controls on the 'Redfield' N:P stoichiometry of marine phytoplankton and hence the N:P ratio of the deep ocean remain incompletely understood. Here, we use a model for phytoplankton ecophysiology and growth, based on functional traits and resource-allocation trade-offs, to show how env...
| Published in: | Ecology Letters |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/6207/ https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12239 |
| Summary: | The controls on the 'Redfield' N:P stoichiometry of marine phytoplankton and hence the N:P ratio of the deep ocean remain incompletely understood. Here, we use a model for phytoplankton ecophysiology and growth, based on functional traits and resource-allocation trade-offs, to show how environmental filtering, biotic interactions, and element cycling in a global ecosystem model determine phytoplankton biogeography, growth strategies and macromolecular composition. Emergent growth strategies capture major observed patterns in marine biomes. Using a new synthesis of experimental RNA and protein measurements to constrain per-ribosome translation rates, we determine a spatially variable lower limit on adaptive rRNA:protein allocation and hence on the relationship between the largest cellular P and N pools. Comparison with the lowest observed phytoplankton N:P ratios and N:P export fluxes in the Southern Ocean suggests that additional contributions from phospholipid and phosphorus storage compounds play a fundamental role in determining the marine biogeochemical cycling of these elements. |
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