Nutrient Amendment Experiments Research Articles

Growth and mortality of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria harvest light energy using bacteriochlorophyll-containing reaction centers to supplement their mostly heterotrophic metabolism. While their abundance and growth have been intensively studied in coastal environments, much less is known about their activity in oligotrophic open ocean regions. Therefore, we combined in situ sampling in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, north of O'ahu island, Hawaii, with two manipulation experiments. Infra-red epifluorescence microscopy documented that AAP bacteria represented approximately 2% of total bacteria in the euphotic zone with the maximum abundance in the upper 50 m. They conducted active photosynthetic electron transport with maximum rates up to 50 electrons per reaction center per second. The in situ decline of bacteriochlorophyll concentration over the daylight period, an estimate of loss rates due to predation, indicated that the AAP bacteria in the upper 50 m of the water column turned over at rates of 0.75-0.90 d-1. This corresponded well with the specific growth rate determined in dilution experiments where AAP bacteria grew at a rate 1.05 ± 0.09 d-1. An amendment of inorganic nitrogen to obtain N:P = 32 resulted in a more than 10 times increase in AAP abundance over 6 days. The presented data document that AAP bacteria are an active part of the bacterioplankton community in the oligotrophic North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and that their growth was mostly controlled by nitrogen availability and grazing pressure.IMPORTANCEMarine bacteria represent a complex assembly of species with different physiology, metabolism, and substrate preferences. We focus on a specific functional group of marine bacteria called aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs. These photoheterotrophic organisms require organic carbon substrates for growth, but they can also supplement their metabolic needs with light energy captured by bacteriochlorophyll. These bacteria have been intensively studied in coastal regions, but rather less is known about their distribution, growth, and mortality in the oligotrophic open ocean. Therefore, we conducted a suite of measurements in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre to determine the distribution of these organisms in the water column and their growth and mortality rates. A nutrient amendment experiment showed that aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs were limited by inorganic nitrogen. Despite this, they grew more rapidly than average heterotrophic bacteria, but their growth was balanced by intense grazing pressure.

Sufficient potassium improves inorganic phosphate-limited photosynthesis in Brassica napus by enhancing metabolic P fractions and Rubisco activity.

Crop photosynthesis (A) and productivity are often limited by a combination of nutrient stresses, such that changes in the availability of one nutrient may affect that of another nutrient, in turn influencing A. In this study, we examined the synergistic effects of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) on leaf A in a nutrient amendment experiment, in which P and K were added individually or in combination to Brassica napus grown under P and K co-limitation. The data revealed that P addition gradually removed the dominant limiting factor (i.e., P) and improved leaf A. Strikingly, the addition of K synergistically improved gross P uptake, mainly by boosting plant growth, and compensated the physiological demand for P by prioritising investment in metabolic P pools (P-containing metabolites and inorganic phosphate, Pi). The enlarged pool of metabolically active P was partially associated with upregulation of Pi regeneration through release from triose phosphates rather than replacement of P-containing lipids. This process mitigated P restrictions on A by maintaining the ATP/NADPH and NADPH/NADP+ ratios and increasing the content and activity of Rubisco. Our findings demonstrate that sufficient K increased Pi-limited A by enhancing metabolic P fractions and Rubisco activity. Thus, ionic synergism may be exploited to mitigate nutrient-limiting factors to improve crop productivity.

Diatom nutrient requirements change with lake nutrient limitation and enrichment in New Zealand dune lakes

ABSTRACT Nutrients are important determinants of diatom growth in lakes, and diatoms are considered reliable indicators of changing lake nutrient concentrations and eutrophication. However, diatom ecologies are not static, nor are they linked to single environmental variables, leading to imprecise diatom nutrient inferences. Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment is the principal issue facing New Zealand’s lakes. Thus, knowledge of diatom responses to nutrients in New Zealand lakes will be important for understanding contemporary and past changes in nutrient availability. Using a nutrient amendment experiment and diatom communities from dune lakes, here we show that the response of specific diatom species is not universal among lakes and is partly determined by lake nutrient concentrations and limitation status. The response of focal diatom species to nutrient additions differed from previously reported nutrient requirements, and did not align with published, assigned trophic statuses. This study highlights that the response of diatoms to nutrient enrichment is context-dependent, and that intraspecific generalisations of diatom ecologies between geographic locations or through time should be made with caution. To apply diatoms to making nutrient inferences, more work focusing on how physiochemical and biological factors influence diatom nutrient requirements is required.

Changes in Microbiome Activity and Sporadic Viral Infection Help Explain Observed Variability in Microcosm Studies.

The environmental conditions experienced by microbial communities are rarely fully simulated in the laboratory. Researchers use experimental containers (“bottles”), where natural samples can be manipulated and evaluated. However, container-based methods are subject to “bottle effects”: changes that occur when enclosing the plankton community that are often times unexplained by standard measures like pigment and nutrient concentrations. We noted variability in a short-term, nutrient amendment experiment during a 2019 Lake Erie, Microcystis spp. bloom. We observed changes in heterotrophic bacteria activity (transcription) on a time-frame consistent with a response to experimental changes in nutrient availability, demonstrating how the often overlooked microbiome of cyanobacterial blooms can be altered. Samples processed at the time of collection (T0) contained abundant transcripts from Bacteroidetes, which reduced in abundance during incubation in all bottles, including controls. Significant biological variability in the expression of Microcystis-infecting phage was observed between replicates, with phosphate-amended treatments showing a 10-fold variation. The expression patterns of Microcystis-infecting phage were significantly correlated with ∼35% of Microcystis-specific functional genes and ∼45% of the cellular-metabolites measured across the entire microbial community, suggesting phage activity not only influenced Microcystis dynamics, but the biochemistry of the microbiome. Our observations demonstrate how natural heterogeneity among replicates can be harnessed to provide further insight on virus and host ecology.

Prevalent reliance of bacterioplankton on exogenous vitamin B1 and precursor availability

Vitamin B1 (B1 herein) is a vital enzyme cofactor required by virtually all cells, including bacterioplankton, which strongly influence aquatic biogeochemistry and productivity and modulate climate on Earth. Intriguingly, bacterioplankton can be de novo B1 synthesizers or B1 auxotrophs, which cannot synthesize B1 de novo and require exogenous B1 or B1 precursors to survive. Recent isolate-based work suggests select abundant bacterioplankton are B1 auxotrophs, but direct evidence of B1 auxotrophy among natural communities is scant. In addition, it is entirely unknown if bulk bacterioplankton growth is ever B1-limited. We show by surveying for B1-related genes in estuarine, marine, and freshwater metagenomes and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) that most naturally occurring bacterioplankton are B1 auxotrophs. Pyrimidine B1-auxotrophic bacterioplankton numerically dominated metagenomes, but multiple other B1-auxotrophic types and distinct uptake and B1-salvaging strategies were also identified, including dual (pyrimidine and thiazole) and intact B1 auxotrophs that have received little prior consideration. Time-series metagenomes from the Baltic Sea revealed pronounced shifts in the prevalence of multiple B1-auxotrophic types and in the B1-uptake and B1-salvaging strategies over time. Complementarily, we documented B1/precursor limitation of bacterioplankton production in three of five nutrient-amendment experiments at the same time-series station, specifically when intact B1 concentrations were ≤3.7 pM, based on bioassays with a genetically engineered Vibrio anguillarum B1-auxotrophic strain. Collectively, the data presented highlight the prevalent reliance of bacterioplankton on exogenous B1/precursors and on the bioavailability of the micronutrients as an overlooked factor that could influence bacterioplankton growth and succession and thereby the cycling of nutrients and energy in aquatic systems.

Nitrogen limitation, toxin synthesis potential, and toxicity of cyanobacterial populations in Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie River Estuary, Florida, during the 2016 state of emergency event.

Lake Okeechobee, FL, USA, has been subjected to intensifying cyanobacterial blooms that can spread to the adjacent St. Lucie River and Estuary via natural and anthropogenically-induced flooding events. In July 2016, a large, toxic cyanobacterial bloom occurred in Lake Okeechobee and throughout the St. Lucie River and Estuary, leading Florida to declare a state of emergency. This study reports on measurements and nutrient amendment experiments performed in this freshwater-estuarine ecosystem (salinity 0–25 PSU) during and after the bloom. In July, all sites along the bloom exhibited dissolved inorganic nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratios < 6, while Microcystis dominated (> 95%) phytoplankton inventories from the lake to the central part of the estuary. Chlorophyll a and microcystin concentrations peaked (100 and 34 μg L-1, respectively) within Lake Okeechobee and decreased eastwards. Metagenomic analyses indicated that genes associated with the production of microcystin (mcyE) and the algal neurotoxin saxitoxin (sxtA) originated from Microcystis and multiple diazotrophic genera, respectively. There were highly significant correlations between levels of total nitrogen, microcystin, and microcystin synthesis gene abundance across all surveyed sites (p < 0.001), suggesting high levels of nitrogen supported the production of microcystin during this event. Consistent with this, experiments performed with low salinity water from the St. Lucie River during the event indicated that algal biomass was nitrogen-limited. In the fall, densities of Microcystis and concentrations of microcystin were significantly lower, green algae co-dominated with cyanobacteria, and multiple algal groups displayed nitrogen-limitation. These results indicate that monitoring and regulatory strategies in Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie River and Estuary should consider managing loads of nitrogen to control future algal and microcystin-producing cyanobacterial blooms.

Nutrient co-limitation at the boundary of an oceanic gyre.

Nutrient limitation of oceanic primary production exerts a fundamental control on marine food webs and the flux of carbon into the deep ocean. The extensive boundaries of the oligotrophic sub-tropical gyres collectively define the most extreme transition in ocean productivity, but little is known about nutrient limitation in these zones. Here we present the results of full-factorial nutrient amendment experiments conducted at the eastern boundary of the South Atlantic gyre. We find extensive regions in which the addition of nitrogen or iron individually resulted in no significant phytoplankton growth over 48 hours. However, the addition of both nitrogen and iron increased concentrations of chlorophyll a by up to approximately 40-fold, led to diatom proliferation, and reduced community diversity. Once nitrogen-iron co-limitation had been alleviated, the addition of cobalt or cobalt-containing vitamin B12 could further enhance chlorophyll a yields by up to threefold. Our results suggest that nitrogen-iron co-limitation is pervasive in the ocean, with other micronutrients also approaching co-deficiency. Such multi-nutrient limitations potentially increase phytoplankton community diversity.

Community and species‐specific responses to simulated global change in two subarctic‐alpine plant communities

Long‐term observational studies have detected greening and shrub encroachment in the subarctic attributed to current climate change, while global change simulations have showed that community composition and productivity may shift drastically in arctic, subarctic, and alpine tundra plant communities in the future. However, responses to global change can be highly species‐ and context‐dependent. We examined community‐level and species‐specific responses to a six‐year factorial temperature and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) amendment experiment in two alpine plant communities in northern Sweden: a species‐poor dwarf shrub heath, and a more species‐rich meadow. We hypothesized that abundance responses to global change would be variable within commonly defined vascular plant functional groups (e.g., forbs, evergreen shrubs, deciduous shrubs) and that new species would appear in experimental plots over time due to the ameliorated growing conditions. We found that within most functional groups, species were highly individualistic with respect to the global change simulation, particularly within the forbs, whereas within the shrubs, responses were neutral to negative and widely variable in magnitude. In the heath community the response of the graminoid functional group was driven almost entirely by the grass Calamagrostis lapponica, which increased in abundance by an order of magnitude in the combined temperature and nutrient treatment. Furthermore, community context was important for species' responses to the simulations. Abundance of the pan‐arctic species Carex bigelowii and Vaccinium vitis‐idaea responded primarily to the temperature treatment in the meadow community whereas the nutrient treatment had stronger effects in the heath community. Over six growing seasons, more new species appeared in the experimental plots than in control plots in the meadow community, whereas in the heath community only one new species appeared. Our results from two closely situated but different plant communities show that functional groups do not predict individual species responses to simulated global change, and that these responses depend to a large extent on pre‐existing physical conditions as well as biotic interactions such as competition and facilitation. It may be difficult to apply general trends of global change responses to specific local communities.

Nitrogenous nutrients promote the growth and toxicity of Dinophysis acuminata during estuarine bloom events.

Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) is a globally significant human health syndrome most commonly caused by dinoflagellates within the genus Dinophysis. While blooms of harmful algae have frequently been linked to excessive nutrient loading, Dinophysis is a mixotrophic alga whose growth is typically associated with prey availability. Consequently, field studies of Dinophysis and nutrients have been rare. Here, the temporal dynamics of Dinophysis acuminata blooms, DSP toxins, and nutrients (nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, silicate, organic compounds) were examined over four years within two New York estuaries (Meetinghouse Creek and Northport Bay). Further, changes in the abundance and toxicity of D. acuminata were assessed during a series of nutrient amendment experiments performed over a three year period. During the study, Dinophysis acuminata blooms exceeding one million cells L-1 were observed in both estuaries. Highly significant (p<0.001) forward stepwise multivariate regression models of ecosystem observations demonstrated that D. acuminata abundances were positively dependent on multiple environmental parameters including ammonium (p = 0.007) while cellular toxin content was positively dependent on ammonium (p = 0.002) but negatively dependent on nitrate (p<0.001). Nitrogen- (N) and phosphorus- (P) containing inorganic and organic nutrients significantly enhanced D. acuminata densities in nearly all (13 of 14) experiments performed. Ammonium significantly increased cell densities in 10 of 11 experiments, while glutamine significantly enhanced cellular DSP content in 4 of 5 experiments examining this compound. Nutrients may have directly or indirectly enhanced D. acuminata abundances as densities of this mixotroph during experiments were significantly correlated with multiple members of the planktonic community (phytoflagellates and Mesodinium). Collectively, this study demonstrates that nutrient loading and more specifically N-loading promotes the growth and toxicity of D. acuminata populations in coastal zones.

Alteration of plankton communities and biogeochemical cycles by harmful Cochlodinium polykrikoides (Dinophyceae) blooms

Cochlodinium polykrikoides is a globally distributed, ichthyotoxic, bloom-forming dinoflagellate. Blooms of C. polykrikoides manifest themselves as large (many km2) and distinct patches with cell densities exceeding 103ml−1 while water adjacent to these patches can have low cell densities (<100cellsml−1). While the effect of these blooms on fish and shellfish is well-known, their impacts on microbial communities and biogeochemical cycles are poorly understood. Here, we investigated plankton communities and the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and B-vitamins within blooms of C. polykrikoides and compared them to areas in close proximity (<100m) with low C. polykrikoides densities. Within blooms, C. polykrikoides represented more than 90% of microplankton (>20μm) cells, and there were significantly more heterotrophic bacteria and picoeukaryotic phytoplankton but fewer Synechococcus. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 16S and 18S rRNA genes revealed significant differences in community composition between bloom and non-bloom samples. Inside the bloom patches, concentrations of vitamin B12 were significantly lower while concentrations of dissolved oxygen were significantly higher. Carbon fixation and nitrogen uptake rates were up to ten times higher within C. polykrikoides bloom patches. Ammonium was a more important source of nitrogen, relative to nitrate and urea, for microplankton within bloom patches compared to non-bloom communities. While uptake rates of vitamin B1 were similar in bloom and non-bloom samples, vitamin B12 was taken up at rates five-fold higher (>100pmol−1L−1d−1) in bloom samples, resulting in turn-over times of hours during blooms. This high vitamin demand likely led to the vitamin B12 limitation of C. polykrikoides observed during nutrient amendment experiments conducted with bloom water. Collectively, this study revealed that C. polykrikoides blooms fundamentally change microbial communities and accelerate the cycling of carbon, some nutrients, and vitamin B12.

Nutrient Uptake and Short-Term Responses of Phytoplankton and Benthic Algal Communities from a Subarctic Pond to Experimental Nutrient Enrichment in Microcosms

Climate warming is anticipated to affect high-latitude regions, including abundant ponds of the Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL). However, it remains unclear if associated increased frequency of nutrient pulses will be rapidly consumed by aquatic biota and sediment or lead to a rise in pond-water nutrient concentrations. Here, we performed a nutrient-amendment experiment to examine short-term (≤72 h) nutrient uptake and identify the consumers of the added nutrients (planktonic vs. benthic communities). Microcosms (1 L) with and without sediment were experimentally amended with inorganic nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium) with and without phosphate. Amended nitrate and ammonium concentrations remained high in microcosms without sediments, and phytoplankton biomass did not change relative to the un-amended control. However, phosphate concentration declined significantly in microcosms without sediment, resulting in significant increase of phytoplankton biomass after 72 h. In the presence of sediment, amended nutrients were rapidly removed from the water, stimulating benthic algal biomass when phosphate was co-amended with ammonium or nitrate. Phytoplankton biomass was significantly elevated in microcosms with sediment compared to those without sediment, regardless of whether nutrients were amended or not, indicating that sediment and associated benthic biofilm stimulate phytoplankton growth, likely via supply of nutrients to the overlying water column. A key outcome of the experiment is that pulsed nutrients were taken up rapidly and primarily by the benthic community. Findings suggest that shallow ponds in the HBL are capable of rapidly consuming pulsed nutrient supplies, as may occur due to hydroclimatic events, climate warming and other disturbances.

Bacterial and phytoplankton responses to nutrient amendments in a boreal lake differ according to season and to taxonomic resolution.

Nutrient limitation and resource competition in bacterial and phytoplankton communities may appear different when considering different levels of taxonomic resolution. Nutrient amendment experiments conducted in a boreal lake on three occasions during one open water season revealed complex responses in overall bacterioplankton and phytoplankton abundance and biovolume. In general, bacteria were dominant in spring, while phytoplankton was clearly the predominant group in autumn. Seasonal differences in the community composition of bacteria and phytoplankton were mainly related to changes in observed taxa, while the differences across nutrient treatments within an experiment were due to changes in relative contributions of certain higher- and lower-level phylogenetic groups. Of the main bacterioplankton phyla, only Actinobacteria had a treatment response that was visible even at the phylum level throughout the season. With increasing resolution (from 75 to 99% sequence similarity) major responses to nutrient amendments appeared using 454 pyrosequencing data of 16S rRNA amplicons. This further revealed that OTUs (defined by 97% sequence similarity) annotated to the same highly resolved freshwater groups appeared to occur during different seasons and were showing treatment-dependent differentiation, indicating that OTUs within these groups were not ecologically coherent. Similarly, phytoplankton species from the same genera responded differently to nutrient amendments even though biovolumes of the majority of taxa increased when both nitrogen and phosphorus were added simultaneously. The bacterioplankton and phytoplankton community compositions showed concurrent trajectories that could be seen in synchronous succession patterns over the season. Overall, our data revealed that the response of both communities to nutrient changes was highly dependent on season and that contradictory results may be obtained when using different taxonomic resolutions.

Nitrogenase (nifH) gene expression in diazotrophic cyanobacteria in the Tropical North Atlantic in response to nutrient amendments

The Tropical North Atlantic (TNAtl) plays a critical role in the marine nitrogen cycle, as it supports high rates of biological nitrogen (N2) fixation, yet it is unclear whether this process is limited by the availability of iron (Fe), phosphate (P) or is co-limited by both. In order to investigate the impact of nutrient limitation on the N2-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) in the TNAtl, trace metal clean nutrient amendment experiments were conducted, and the expression of nitrogenase (nifH) in cyanobacterial diazotrophs in response to the addition of Fe, P, or Fe+P was measured using quantitative PCR. To provide context, N2 fixation rates associated with the <10 μm community and diel nifH expression in natural cyanobacterial populations were measured. In the western TNAtl, nifH expression in Crocosphaera, Trichodesmium, and Richelia was stimulated by Fe and Fe+P additions, but not by P, implying that diazotrophs may be Fe-limited in this region. In the eastern TNAtl, nifH expression in unicellular cyanobacteria UCYN-A and Crocosphaera was stimulated by P, implying P-limitation. In equatorial waters, nifH expression in Trichodesmium was highest in Fe+P treatments, implying co-limitation in this region. Nutrient additions did not measurably stimulate N2 fixation rates in the <10 μm fraction in most of the experiments, even when upregulation of nifH expression was evident. These results demonstrate the utility of using gene expression to investigate the physiological state of natural populations of microorganisms, while underscoring the complexity of nutrient limitation on diazotrophy, and providing evidence that diazotroph populations are slow to respond to the addition of limiting nutrients and may be limited by different nutrients on basin-wide spatial scales. This has important implications for our current understanding of controls on N2 fixation in the TNAtl and may partially explain why it appears to be intermittently limited by Fe, P, or both.

Effects of nitrogenous compounds and phosphorus on the growth of toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis during cyanobacterial blooms

Since the mid-twentieth century, both nutrient delivery rates and the frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in coastal aquatic ecosystems have intensified. Recent studies have shown that nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) can limit primary production in freshwater systems, and Microcystis is able to utilize both inorganic and organic forms of N. The present study quantified the microcystin synthetase gene (mcyD) and the ribosomal RNA gene (16S) to assess how various nutri- ent sources affected the growth of toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis during natural blooms. During the present study, dense Microcystis blooms (>10 6 cell equivalents l -1 ) were observed within 2 contrasting ecosystems in the eastern USA: a tidal tributary and a eutrophic lake. In both systems, all Microcystis populations were stimulated by N more frequently than P during nutrient amendment experiments. The abundance of toxic strains of Microcystis was enhanced by nutrient enrichment more frequently (83% of experiments) than non-toxic strains (58% of experiments), suggesting that toxic strains may have a greater demand for both nutrients. Furthermore, abundances of toxic strains of Microcystis were enhanced by inorganic N more frequently (67% of experiments) than organic N (8% of experiments), while non-toxic strains were stimulated by organic N (50% of experiments) more frequently than inorganic N (25% of experiments). Inorganic P increased abundances of toxic strains of Microcystis more frequently than non-toxic strains (42 and 33% of experiments, respec- tively). Therefore, the dominance of toxic Microcystis may be influenced by both the concentration and species of nutrients, with higher concentrations of inorganic N and/or P likely promoting blooms dominated by toxic strains and potentially yielding higher microcystin concentrations.

Grazers and vitamins shape chain formation in a bloom-forming dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides

Predators influence the phenotype of prey through both natural selection and induction. We investigated the effects of grazers and nutrients on chain formation in a dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, which forms dense blooms and has deleterious effects on marine ecosystems around the world. Field populations of C. polykrikoides formed longer chains than laboratory cultures without grazers. In the field, chain length of C. polykrikoides was positively correlated with the abundance of the copepod Acartia tonsa. Chain length of C. polykrikoides increased when exposed to live females of A. tonsa or its fresh (<24h post-isolation) exudates for 48h. These results suggest that dissolved chemical cues released by A. tonsa induce chain formation in C. polykrikoides. Ingestion rate of A. tonsa on four-cell chains of C. polykrikoides was lower than on single cells, suggesting that chain formation may be an effective anti-grazing defense. Finally, nutrient amendment experiments demonstrated that vitamins (B(1), B(7), and B(12)) increased the chain length of C. polykrikoides both singly and collectively, while trace metals and inorganic nutrients did not, showing that vitamins may also influence chain formation in this species.

Effects of nutrient supplies on the growth rates of planktonic bacteria in Uchiumi Bay, Japan

AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 9:123-130 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00240 Effects of nutrient supplies on the growth rates of planktonic bacteria in Uchiumi Bay, Japan Daisuke Ichinotsuka1, Toshiya Katano2,3, Hidetaka Takeoka2, Shin-ichi Nakano1,4,* 1LAFWEDY, Ehime University, Tarumi 3-5-7, Matsuyama 790-8566, Ehime, Japan 2Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan 3Ariake Sea Research Project, Saga University, 1 Honjo-cho, Saga 840-8502, Japan 4Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Hirano-cho 2 chome, 509-3, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan *Corresponding author. Email: nakano@ecology.kyoto-u.ac.jp ABSTRACT: In the oligo- to mesotrophic waters of Uchiumi Bay, Japan, there is an intermittent physical event which supplies nutrients to the sea: bottom intrusion of deep, cool, nutrient-rich water that slides through just above the continental shelf. To determine the effects of nutrients supplied by this bottom intrusion on bacterial growth, we monitored seasonal changes in bacterial growth rates and conducted nutrient amendment experiments with single or mixed-nutrient additions of N and P. In addition, we examined the importance of organic matter supply for bacterial growth rates using glucose. Bacterioplankton bulk growth rates ranged between 0.37 and 1.86 d–1, with relatively high growth rates during the period of strong thermal stratification. Neither positive nor negative effects on bacterial growth rates were detected by amendments of nutrients or glucose. A significant positive relationship (p < 0.001) between cell density and production of bacteria was found, though the regression slope of bacterial cell density on bacterial production was relatively low (0.34). Our results suggested that bacterial growth rates in Uchiumi Bay are nearly saturated at ambient levels of nutrients and/or organic matter, and that bacterial abundance is subject to relatively weak bottom-up control. KEY WORDS: Bacterial growth rate · Nutrient limitation · Bottom-up control Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Ichinotsuka D, Katano T, Takeoka H, Nakano S (2010) Effects of nutrient supplies on the growth rates of planktonic bacteria in Uchiumi Bay, Japan. Aquat Biol 9:123-130. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00240 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 9, No. 2. Online publication date: April 15, 2010 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.

Enzymatic Assessment of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Bioavailability to Stream Periphyton Communities at Different Velocity Regimes

ABSTRACT Phosphatase (Pase) and glutamine synthetase (GS) activities were used as physiological indicators of P and N bioavailability, respectively, to study the effect of velocity regime on nutrient supply dynamics in periphyton of East Branch Codorus Creek, a cold-water stream in an agricultural watershed of the Northern Piedmont Region of Pennsylvania, USA. To validate this dual enzyme approach, chlorophyll weighted activities of Pase and GS were measured on periphyton amended with ammonium and phosphate in vitro by post-colonization incubations of artificial substrates and in situ by difisive substrate periphytometers. As expected the chlorophyll weighted activity of GS decreased with N enrichment relative to the control and phosphate treatments, and that of Pase decreased with phosphate enrichment relative to the control and ammonium treatments. Both bacteria and algae were limited by P based on nutrient amendment experiments performed in situ at a pool and riffle site. Pool periphyton had higher mineral sediment content, less relative organic content, and greater N bioavailability (less GS activity) but was more P deficient than periphyton at higher velocities (runs and riffles), especially during warmer seasons. A benthic source of ammonium associated with fine sediment accumulation at low velocity can explain repressed GS activity and low GS:Pase ratios in pools during all seasons sampled.

Effect of B-vitamins (B1, B12) and inorganic nutrients on algal bloom dynamics in a coastal ecosystem

Vitamins play an integral role in the cellular biochemistry of algae, but the effect of these organic metabolites on the growth and diversity of phytoplankton communities has been poorly studied. We integrated newly developed techniques to directly measure vitamins B 1 and B 12 with field-based amendment experiments to elucidate the role of B-vitamins in phytoplankton population dynamics in coastal marine environments. Two sites on Long Island, New York, USA, were monitored from spring through fall: the tidal Old Fort Pond (OFP) and the brackish Peconic River (PR) estuary. Vitamin B 12 levels were similar between sites (OFP: 1.6 to 21 pM; PR: 1.6 to 17 pM) and were significantly correlated with bacterial densities, dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus at OFP, suggesting that B 12 behaves like regenerated organic nutrients. Concentrations of vitamin B 1 were substantially higher in the freshwater dominated site (PR: 12 to 190 pM; OFP: 9 to 43 pM) and were inversely correlated with salinity, suggesting that rivers and groundwater may be an important source of vitamin B 1 . During dinoflagellate blooms (>10 4 cells ml -1 ), occurring in late summer and early fall, vitamin B 12 and B 1 levels in PR decreased 90% relative to pre-bloom levels, while levels temporarily increased to seasonal maxima in OFP, likely reflecting vitamin synthesis and/or regeneration by microbial communities. Nutrient amendment experiments conducted at both sites during summer demonstrated that algal communities were primarily N-limited, while those conducted during early fall showed that vitamins B 1 and B 12 were each capable of significantly enhancing the biomass of larger phytoplankton (>5 μm). The autumnal shift in phytoplankton communities from dinoflagellates to diatoms, as vitamin levels became depleted and algal communities were limited by vitamin B 12 , suggests that B-vitamins may influence the succession of coastal phytoplankton.

Nitrogen spiraling in streams: Comparisons between stable isotope tracer and nutrient addition experiments

A common method to quantify stream nutrient uptake length is to enrich the stream at an upstream point and monitor the downstream decline in the concentration of the added nutrient. However, increasing the nutrient concentration of the stream alters nutrient uptake, and uptake length quantified using this amendment approach does not necessarily reflect uptake length under ambient conditions. We conducted a series of 15NO3− tracer and 14NO3− nutrient amendment experiments to (1) assess the overestimation of amendment‐derived uptake length in streams spanning a gradient of ambient nitrogen concentration, and (2) evaluate a technique to estimate ambient uptake length using data from multiple amendments conducted at different concentrations. Single amendment‐derived uptake lengths were consistently longer than ambient uptake lengths quantified using the stableisotope tracer. The ratio of single amendment‐derived to ambient uptake length ranged more than sixfold across streams but was not related to ambient stream water nitrogen concentration or amendment concentration. Estimated ambient uptake length calculated from the multiple amendment technique was a better predictor of ambient uptake length than single amendment‐derived uptake length in three of five experiments. However, with this technique, calculated uptake length was negative in two streams. Our results suggest that nitrogen limitation was weak in these two streams and that the multiple amendment technique may be ineffective in streams where the nutrient of study is not limiting.

Nutrient control of microbial carbon cycling along an ombrotrophic‐minerotrophic peatland gradient

Future climate change and other anthropogenic activities are likely to increase nutrient availability in many peatlands, and it is important to understand how these additional nutrients will influence peatland carbon cycling. We investigated the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on aerobic CH4 oxidation, anaerobic carbon mineralization (as CO2 and CH4 production), and anaerobic nutrient mineralization in a bog, an intermediate fen, and a rich fen in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We utilized a 5‐week laboratory nutrient amendment experiment in conjunction with a 6‐year field nutrient fertilization experiment to consider how the relative response to nitrogen and phosphorus differed among these wetlands over the short and long term. Field fertilizations generally increased nutrient availability in the upper 15 cm of peat and resulted in shifts in the vegetation community in each peatland. High nitrogen concentrations inhibited CH4 oxidation in bog peat during short‐term incubations; however, long‐term fertilization with lower concentrations of nitrogen stimulated rates of CH4 oxidation in bog peat. In contrast, no nitrogen effects on CH4 oxidation were observed in the intermediate or rich fen peat. Anaerobic carbon mineralization in bog peat was consistently inhibited by increased phosphorus availability, but similar phosphorus additions had few effects in the intermediate fen and stimulated CH4 production and nutrient mineralization in the rich fen. Our results demonstrate that nitrogen and phosphorus are important controls of peatland microbial carbon cycling; however, the role of these nutrients can differ over the short and long term and is strongly mediated by peatland type.