Effects of iron, manganese, copper, and zinc enrichments on productivity and biomass in the subarctic Pacific
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In this article, the authors simulate the effect of small amounts of Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn on marine plankton populations in subarctic Pacific surface waters, and show that the effect is not limited by one micronutrient alone.Abstract:
Natural plankton populations from subarctic Pacific surface waters were incubated in 7-d experiments with added concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn. Small additions of metals (0.89 nM Fe, 1.8 nM Mn, 3.9 nM Cu, and 0.75 nM Zn) were used to simulate natural perturbations in metal concentrations potentially experienced by marine plankton. Trace metal concentrations, phytoplankton productivity, Chl a, and the species composition of phytoplankton and microzooplankton were measured over the course of the experiment. Although the controls indicated little growth, increases in phytoplankton productivity, Chl a, and cell densities were dramatic after the addition of 0.89 nM Fe, indicating that it may limit the rates of algal production in these waters. Similar increases were observed in experiments with 3.9 nM Cu added. The Cu effect is attributed to a decrease in the grazing activities of the microzooplankton (ciliates) and increases in the rates of production. Mn enrichment had its greatest effect on diatom biomass, whereas Zn enrichment had its greatest effect on other autofluorescent organisms. The extent of trace metal adsorption onto carboy walls was also evaluated. These results imply that natural systems may be affected as follows: natural levels of Fe and Cu may influence phytoplankton productivity and trophic structure in open-obean, high-nutrient, low-biomass systems; rates of net production are not limited by one micronutrient alone. Because of the effects of adsorption and complexation, experiments must be carefully monitored for free vs. total metal concentrations, and short-term incubations (1 d) may not be affected dramatically by small perturbations in trace metal micronutrients.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Testing the iron hypothesis in ecosystems of the equatorial Pacific Ocean
John H. Martin,Kenneth H. Coale,Kenneth S. Johnson,Kenneth S. Johnson,Steve E. Fitzwater,R. M. Gordon,S. J. Tanner,Craig N. Hunter,Virginia A. Elrod,Jocelyn L. Nowicki,Teresa L. Coley,Richard T. Barber,Steven T. Lindley,Andrew J. Watson,K. A. Van Scoy,Cliff S. Law,M.I. Liddicoat,R. D. Ling,Timothy P. Stanton,J. Stockel,Clare E. Collins,A. Anderson,Robert R. Bidigare,Michael Ondrusek,Mikel Latasa,Frank J. Millero,Kitack Lee,W. Yao,J. Z. Zhang,Gernot E. Friederich,Carole M. Sakamoto,Francisco P. Chavez,Kurt R. Buck,Zbigniew Kolber,Richard M. Greene,Paul G. Falkowski,Sallie W. Chisholm,Frank E. Hoge,Robert N. Swift,James K. Yungel,Suzanne M. Turner,Philip D. Nightingale,Angela D. Hatton,Peter S. Liss,Neil Tindale +44 more
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Journal ArticleDOI
A massive phytoplankton bloom induced by an ecosystem-scale iron fertilization experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean
Kenneth H. Coale,Kenneth S. Johnson,Kenneth S. Johnson,Steve E. Fitzwater,R. Michael Gordon,S. J. Tanner,Francisco P. Chavez,Laurie Ferioli,Laurie Ferioli,Carole M. Sakamoto,Paul Rogers,Frank J. Millero,Paul A. Steinberg,Phil Nightingale,Phil Nightingale,David Neil Cooper,David Neil Cooper,William P. Cochlan,Michael R. Landry,John Constantinou,Gretchen Rollwagen,Armando Trasviña,Raphael M. Kudela,Raphael M. Kudela +23 more
TL;DR: Observations provide unequivocal support for the hypothesis that phytoplankton growth in this oceanic region is limited by iron bioavailability.
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Synthesis of iron fertilization experiments: From the iron age in the age of enlightenment
Hein J W de Baar,Philip W. Boyd,Kenneth H. Coale,Michael R. Landry,Atsushi Tsuda,Philipp Assmy,Dorothee C. E. Bakker,Yann Bozec,Richard T. Barber,Mark A. Brzezinski,Ken O. Buesseler,Marie Boye,Marie Boye,Peter Croot,Frank Gervais,Maxim Y. Gorbunov,Paul Harrison,William T. Hiscock,Patrick Laan,Christiane Lancelot,Cliff S. Law,Maurice Levasseur,Adrian Marchetti,Frank J. Millero,Jun Nishioka,Yukihiro Nojiri,Tim van Oijen,Ulf Riebesell,Micha J. A. Rijkenberg,Hiroaki Saito,Shingenobu Takeda,Klaas R. Timmermans,Marcel J.W. Veldhuis,Anya M. Waite,Chi Shing Wong +34 more
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Importance of iron for plankton blooms and carbon dioxide drawdown in the Southern Ocean
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TL;DR: The iron hypothesis has been tested by small-scale experiments in incubation bottles in the subarctic Pacific2,4 and Southern5-7 Oceans, and by a recent large-scale experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean8,9 as mentioned in this paper.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Iron deficiency limits phytoplankton growth in the north-east Pacific subarctic
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Sampling and analytical methods for the determination of copper, cadmium, zinc, and nickel at the nanogram per liter level in sea water
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the case of iron deficiency in phytoplankton/zooplankton communities in offshore areas ranging from the tropical equatorial Pacific to the polar Antarctic.
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