A nitrate-dependent Synechococcus bloom in surface Sargasso Sea water

Glover, Hilary E.; Prézelin, Barbara B.; Campbell, Lisa; Wyman, Michael; Garside, C.

doi:10.1038/331161a0

Cited by 145 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…It is important to stress that, in contrast with previous studies reporting temporal di!erences in productivity associated with variations in nutrient supply (e.g. Glover et al, 1988;Olson et al, 1990;Marra et al, 1992), the changes we observed in the rate of primary production were not accompanied by a similar degree of variability in phytoplankton biomass, which remained remarkably constant in oligotrophic waters throughout the three cruises (Fig. 6).…”

Section: Temporal Variabilitycontrasting

confidence: 53%

“…Although nitrate was undetectable in surface waters from 303N to 303S, nanomolar nitrate increases in upwelling and equatorial waters, resulting from a shallowing of the nutricline, may have given rise to an enhancement of phytoplankton productivity and growth. Nanomolar increases in nitrate concentration have been shown to support high surface productivity in Sargasso Sea waters (Glover et al, 1988), and an inverse correlation between integrated productivity and the depth of the nutricline has been previously reported in several nutrient-poor regions of the Atlantic Ocean (Herbland and Voituriez, 1979;Malone et al, 1993). The notion of the phytoplankton growth rate being nitrogen limited in vast areas of the Atlantic Ocean agrees with the observed geographical distribution of the maximum quantum e$ciency of photosynthesis (Geider et al, 1993;Olaizola et al, 1996) and the results of nutrient addition experiments in the North Atlantic .…”

Section: Phytoplankton Growth In the Oligotrophic Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this scenario, temporal variability of productivity is small, and zooplankton are the main controlling factor through grazing and regeneration of nutrients (Banse, 1995). If, on the other hand, nutrient depletion causes low phytoplankton growth rates ((0.3 d\ ), events of nutrient enrichment (e.g., Glover et al, 1988) will account for a major fraction of the annual primary production (Platt and Harrison, 1985). Accordingly, higher temporal variability in productivity will be expected and coupling between biomass production and consumption would not always be tight, thus a!ecting the export rate of the system .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Marañón

Holligan

Varela

et al. 2000

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

198

157

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The latitudinal distributions of phytoplankton biomass, composition and production in the Atlantic Ocean were determined along a 10,000-km transect from 503N to 503S in October 1995, May 1996 and October 1996. Highest levels of euphotic layer-integrated chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration (75}125 mg Chl m\ ) were found in North Atlantic temperate waters and in the upwelling region o! NW Africa, whereas typical Chl a concentrations in oligotrophic waters ranged from 20 to 40 mg Chl m\ . The estimated concentration of surface phytoplankton carbon (C) biomass was 5}15 mg C m\ in the oligotrophic regions and increased over 40 mg C m\ in richer areas. The deep chlorophyll maximum did not seem to constitute a biomass or productivity maximum, but resulted mainly from an increase in the Chl a to C ratio and represented a relatively small contribution to total integrated productivity. Primary production rates varied from 50 mg C m\ d\ at the central gyres to 500}1000 mg C m\ d\ in upwelling and higher latitude regions, where faster growth rates ( ) of phytoplankton ( '0.5 d\ ) were also measured. In oligotrophic waters, microalgal growth was consistently slow [surface averaged 0.21$0.02 d\ (mean$SE)], representing (20% of maximum expected growth. These results argue against the view that the subtropical gyres are characterized by high phytoplankton turnover rates. The latitudinal variations in were inversely correlated to the changes in the depth of the nitracline and positively correlated to those of the integrated nitrate concentration, supporting the case for the role of nutrients in controlling the large-scale distribution of phytoplankton growth rates. We observed a large degree of temporal 0967-0637/00/$ -see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 6 7 -0 6 3 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 8 7 -4 variability in the phytoplankton dynamics in the oligotrophic regions: productivity and growth rates varied in excess of 8-fold, whereas microalgal biomass remained relatively constant. The observed spatial and temporal variability in the biomass speci"c rate of photosynthesis is at least three times larger than currently assumed in most satellite-based models of global productivity.

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Section: Temporal Variabilitycontrasting

confidence: 53%

Section: Phytoplankton Growth In the Oligotrophic Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Marañón

Holligan

Varela

et al. 2000

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

198

157

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“…Exceptions occurred at a number of stations where net plankton and nanoplankton utilized a similar high proportion of reduced N, in agreement with the overall trend found by Furnas (1983) off Rhode Island. Similarly, picoplankton have on occasion been demonstrated to predominantly use N03- (Probyn 1985;Probyn and Painting 1985;Glover et al 1988;Harrison and Wood 1988). It appears that, provided sufficient NO,-is available, ambient NH4+ and urea concentrations set broad limits on the proportion of reduced N used by picoplankton (Fig.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size-fractionated measurements of nitrogen uptake in aged upwelled waters: Implications for pelagic food webs

Probyn

1990

Limnol. Oceanogr.

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Uptake of NO3−, NH4+, and urea was measured for the 200–20‐, 20–2‐, and <2‐µm size classes within the chlorophyll maximum layer in the Benguela upwelling system. Picoplankton and nanoplankton dominated in terms of biomass and activity both inshore and offshore. Net plankton N uptake declined drastically at night, whereas the smaller size classes maintained rates close to daytime levels. There was some evidence for N resource partitioning. Reduced N generally made up a higher proportion of the total N uptake by nanoplankton and picoplankton (for both size classes, mean = 94%) than by net plankton (mean = 63%). The contribution of nanoplankton and picoplankton NH4+ uptake always exceeded 50% of the total primary N production. In a regeneration‐based model with small cells dominating primary production it is conservatively estimated that carnivory on microzooplankton can contribute 14% toward the production of an omnivorous mesozooplankton assemblage.

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“…Synechococcus is virtually ubiquitous in all marine environments (Partensky et al 1999) and was found to be the most abundant part of the phytoplankton in surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea during summer (Vaulot et al 1996). Transient blooms of Synechococcus have also been observed in the open ocean (Glover et al 1988;Morel 1997). The causes of such cyanobacterial predominance remain to be elucidated (Morel 1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does competition for nanomolar phosphate supply explain the predominance of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus?

Moutin¹,

Thingstad²,

Wambeke³

et al. 2002

Limnology & Oceanography

200

112

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Abstract-Experimental work during a cruise along a W-E transect in the Mediterranean Sea suggests that (1) orthophosphate concentrations in the upper photic zone show a decreasing trend from the west to the east reaching levels well below 1 nM and (2) microorganisms in the 0.6-2-m size fraction, probably Synechococcus, have, in addition to high affinity for orthophosphate, significantly higher maximum uptake rates than heterotrophic bacteria or eukaryotic algae. These specific advantages concerning orthophosphate uptake at low (Ͻ5 nM) as well as at relatively high (5-25 nM) concentrations could explain both general Synechococcus abundance in P-depleted environments and transient blooms of this species in the open ocean where episodic orthophosphate nanopulse events are likely to occur.

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A nitrate-dependent Synechococcus bloom in surface Sargasso Sea water

Cited by 145 publications

References 15 publications

Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Size-fractionated measurements of nitrogen uptake in aged upwelled waters: Implications for pelagic food webs

Does competition for nanomolar phosphate supply explain the predominance of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus?

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