Acclimation by diverse phytoplankton species determines oceanic carbon to nitrogen ratios

The carbon to nitrogen (CN) ratio of phytoplankton connects the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the ocean. Any variation in this ratio under climate change will alter the amount of carbon fixed by photosynthesis, and ultimately the amount sequestered in the ocean. However, a consistent mechanistic exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Limnology and oceanography letters 2023-06, Vol.8 (3), p.519-528
Main Authors: Masuda, Yoshio, Yamanaka, Yasuhiro, Smith, Sherwood Lan, Hirata, Takafumi, Nakano, Hideyuki, Oka, Akira, Sumata, Hiroshi, Aita, Maki Noguchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acclimatization
Carbon
Chlorophyll
Climate change
Ecosystem models
Ecosystems
Environmental conditions
Experiments
General circulation models
Light
Marine ecosystems
Nitrates
Nitrogen
Photosynthesis
Physiology
Phytoplankton
Plankton
Ratios
Resource allocation
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Summary:The carbon to nitrogen (CN) ratio of phytoplankton connects the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the ocean. Any variation in this ratio under climate change will alter the amount of carbon fixed by photosynthesis, and ultimately the amount sequestered in the ocean. However, a consistent mechanistic explanation remains lacking for observed species‐specific variations in phytoplankton CN ratios. We show that acclimation to ambient environmental conditions explains the observed variation of phytoplankton CN ratios by incorporating phytoplankton acclimation theory based on a resource allocation trade‐off between carbon vs. nitrogen acquisition capacity into a three‐dimensional marine ecosystem model. Inter‐specific differences in CN ratio and its sensitivity are caused by inter‐specific differences in Droop's minimum nitrogen cell quota. Our model, constrained by observed phytoplankton parameters, shows that the global mean phytoplankton CN ratio is greater than the canonical Redfield ratio, as suggested previously based on regional in situ observations.
ISSN:2378-2242
2378-2242
DOI:10.1002/lol2.10304