VARIATION IN INTERNAL δ15N AND δ13C DISTRIBUTIONS AND THEIR BULK VALUES IN THE BROWN MACROALGA PADINA AUSTRALIS GROWING IN SUBTROPICAL OLIGOTROPHIC WATERS1

Abstract

The utility of δ15N measurements in Padina australis Hauck as a probe for its external nitrogen (N) sources was tested by monitoring the bulk values of chemical components [δ15N, δ13C, and N and carbon (C) contents] and their internal distributions during a 12 d incubation in a controlled environment. Under the saturated conditions of isotopically heavier nitrate than that of original algal tissue, the bulk δ15N in P. australis was enriched, but less than what was predicted from a simple mixing model, signaling possible isotopic discrimination during N assimilation and subsequent N efflux from the cells. The enhanced N content (%), which occurred simultaneously with this δ15N shift, was a useful signal indicating this phenomenon. Bulk δ15N was enriched, especially around the meristem, in tissues growing under conditions of higher irradiance and temperature, probably due in part to dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) excretion. The δ13C enhancement in bulk algal tissues, also associated with high photosynthetic activity, may be an additional signal indicating this unbalanced internal δ15N distribution. However, in summer and winter environmental conditions with periodic nitrate supplies simulating typical fringing reef waters, the difference in measured algal bulk δ15N from theoretical predictions was within ±1.0‰. This difference is very small compared with the variation in δ15N in possible N sources in coastal areas. In the field, therefore, δ15N in Padina can be used effectively to trace N sources in both space and time after determining algal N content and δ13C to determine whether large alterations occur in algal δ15N.