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No observed effect of ocean acidification on nitrogen biogeochemistry in a summer Baltic Sea plankton community
Citation
Paul, AJ and Achterberg, EP and Bach, LT and Boxhammer, T and Czerny, J and Haunost, M and Schulz, K-G and Stuhr, A and Riebesell, U, No observed effect of ocean acidification on nitrogen biogeochemistry in a summer Baltic Sea plankton community, Biogeosciences, 13 pp. 3901-3913. ISSN 1726-4170 (2016) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2016 the authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
DOI: doi:10.5194/bg-13-3901-2016
Abstract
Nitrogen fixation by filamentous cyanobacteria supplies significant amounts of new nitrogen (N) to the Baltic Sea. This balances N loss processes such as denitrification and anammox, and forms an important N source supporting primary and secondary production in N-limited post-spring bloom plankton communities. Laboratory studies suggest that filamentous diazotrophic cyanobacteria growth and N2-fixation rates are sensitive to ocean acidification, with potential implications for new N supply to the Baltic Sea. In this study, our aim was to assess the effect of ocean acidification on diazotroph growth and activity as well as the contribution of diazotrophically fixed N to N supply in a natural plankton assemblage. We enclosed a natural plankton community in a summer season in the Baltic Sea near the entrance to the Gulf of Finland in six large-scale mesocosms (volume ∼ 55m3) and manipulated fCO2 over a range relevant for projected ocean acidification by the end of this century (average treatment fCO2: 365–1231µatm). The direct response of diazotroph growth and activity was followed in the mesocosms over a 47 day study period during N-limited growth in the summer plankton community. Diazotrophic filamentous cyanobacteria abundance throughout the study period and N2-fixation rates (determined only until day 21 due to subsequent use of contaminated commercial 15N-N2 gas stocks) remained low. Thus estimated new N inputs from diazotrophy were too low to relieve N limitation and stimulate a summer phytoplankton bloom. Instead, regeneration of organic N sources likely sustained growth in the plankton community. We could not detect significant CO2-related differences in neither inorganic nor organic N pool sizes, or particulate matter N : P stoichiometry. Additionally, no significant effect of elevated CO2 on diazotroph activity was observed. Therefore, ocean acidification had no observable impact on N cycling or biogeochemistry in this N-limited, post-spring bloom plankton assemblage in the Baltic Sea.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | nitrogen fixation, phytoplankton, mesocosm, ocean acidification |
| Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
| Research Group: | Oceanography |
| Research Field: | Biological oceanography |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Bach, LT (Dr Lennart Bach) |
| ID Code: | 133573 |
| Year Published: | 2016 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 11 |
| Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
| Deposited On: | 2019-07-02 |
| Last Modified: | 2019-08-12 |
| Downloads: | 4 View Download Statistics |
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