Dissolved Organic Phosphorus Production during Simulated Phytoplankton Blooms in a Coastal Upwelling System

K C Ruttenberg,S T Dyhrman

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2012.00274

Abstract

Dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) is increasingly recognized as an important phosphorus source to marine primary producers. Despite its importance, the production rate and fate of DOP is poorly understood. In this study, patterns of DOP production were evaluated by tracking the evolution of DOP during simulated phytoplankton blooms initiated with nutrient amended surface waters, relative to controls, from the Oregon (USA) coastal upwelling system. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions were used to decouple DOP production and hydrolysis by inducing or repressing, respectively, community alkaline phosphatase activity. In order to examine the progression of nutrient uptake and DOP production under upwelling versus relaxation conditions, two experiments were initiated with waters collected during upwelling events, and two with waters collected during relaxation events. Maximum [under (+P) conditions] and minimum [under (+N) conditions] DOP production rates were calculated and applied to in situ DOP levels to evaluate which end-member rate most closely approximates the in situ DOP production rate at the four study sites in this coastal system. Increases in DOP concentration occurred by day-5 in control treatments in all experiments. N treatments displayed increased chlorophyll a, increased alkaline phosphatase activity, and yielded lower net DOP production rates relative to controls, suggesting that DOP levels were depressed as a consequence of increased hydrolysis of bioavailable DOP substrates. Phosphorus additions resulted in a significant net production of DOP at all stations, but no increase in chlorophyll a relative to control treatments. The contrasting patterns in DOP production between treatments suggests that changes in the ambient dissolved inorganic nitrogen:dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIN:DIP) ratio could exert profound control over DOP production rates in this system. Patterns of DOP production across the different experiments also suggest that bathymetry-driven differences in water residence times can influence DOP cycling. Taken together, these factors may impact the potential export of DOP to offshore ecosystems.

Highlights

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient, required for many diverse biological functions, such as membrane synthesis and energy transfer
During times of significant riverine input, when relatively dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIN)-enriched conditions can be realized after strong, DIN-rich freshwater pulses to the coastal ocean, our results suggest that lower net dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) production would result owing to heightened DOP utilization
In this study, patterns of DOP production were evaluated by tracking the evolution of DOP during simulated phytoplankton blooms initiated with nutrient amended surface waters, relative to controls, from the Oregon (USA) coastal upwelling system

Summary

Introduction

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient, required for many diverse biological functions, such as membrane synthesis and energy transfer. DOP utilization by phytoplankton is enabled by the activities of hydrolytic enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase (Dyhrman and Palenik, 1999) and C-P lyase (Dyhrman et al, 2006), which release bioavailable DIP from organic substrates. These hydrolytic enzymes are typically up-regulated when DIP concentrations drop below critical threshold levels (Dyhrman and Palenik, 1999; Dyhrman et al, 2006). While a few studies have shown species-specific abilities to produce the enzymes required for hydrolysis of phosphate from phosphonates (Dyhrman et al, 2006) and diesters (Dyhrman et al, 2012), the alkaline phosphatase enzyme that hydrolyzes phosphomonoesters is known to www.frontiersin.org

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