| Summary: | The balance in microbial net consumption of nitrogen and phosphorus was investigated in samples collected in two mesotrophic coastal environments: the Baltic Sea (Tvarminne field station) and the North Sea (Espegrend field station). For this, we have refined a bioassay based on the response in alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) over a matrix of combinations in nitrogen and phosphorus additions. This assay not only provides information on which element (N or P) is the primary limiting nutrient, but also gives a quantitative estimate for the excess of the secondary limiting element (P+ or N+, respectively), as well as the ratio of balanced net consumption of added N and P over short timescales (days). As expected for a Baltic Sea late springearly summer situation, the Tvarminne assays (n = 5) indicated N limitation with an average P+ = 0.30 +/- 0.10 mu M-P, when incubated for 4 days. For short incubations (1-2 days), the Espegrend assays indicated P limitation, but the shape of the response surface changed with incubation time, resulting in a drift in parameter estimates toward N limitation. Extrapolating back to zero incubation time gave P limitation with N+ approximate to 0.9 mu M-N. The N : P ratio (molar) of nutrient net consumption varied considerably between investigated locations: from 2.3 +/- 0.4 in the Tvarminne samples to 13 +/- 5 and 32 +/- 3 in two samples from Espegrend. Our assays included samples from mesocosm acidification experiments, but statistically significant effects of ocean acidification were not found by this method. Peer reviewed
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