Maximum Rates of N2Fixation and Primary Production Are out of Phase in a Developing Cyanobacterial Bloom in the Baltic Sea

Although N2-fixing cyanobacteria contribute significantly to oceanic sequestration of atmospheric CO2, little is known about how N2fixation and carbon fixation (primary production) interact in natural populations of marine cyanobacteria. In a developing cyanobacterial bloom in the Baltic Sea, rates...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Limnology and oceanography 2002-09, Vol.47 (5), p.1514-1521
Main Authors: Gallon, J. R., Evans, A. M., Jones, D. A., Albertano, P., Congestri, R., Bergman, B., Gundersen, K., Orcutt, K. M., von Bröckel, K., Fritsche, P., Meyerhöfer, M., Nachtigall, K., Ohlendieck, U., S. te Lintel Hekkert, Sivonen, K., Repka, S., Stal, L. J., Staal, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkynes
Amino acids
Cyanobacteria
Nitrogen
Photons
Primary productivity
Sea water
Seas
Sediments
Surface water
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Summary:Although N2-fixing cyanobacteria contribute significantly to oceanic sequestration of atmospheric CO2, little is known about how N2fixation and carbon fixation (primary production) interact in natural populations of marine cyanobacteria. In a developing cyanobacterial bloom in the Baltic Sea, rates of N2fixation (acetylene reduction) showed both diurnal and longer-term fluctuations. The latter reflected fluctuations in the nitrogen status of the cyanobacterial population and could be correlated with variations in the ratio of acetylene reduced to15N2assimilated. The value of this ratio may provide useful information about the release of newly fixed nitrogen by a cyanobacterial population. However, although the diurnal fluctuations in N2fixation broadly paralleled diurnal fluctuations in carbon fixation, the longer-term fluctuations in these two processes were out of phase.
ISSN:0024-3590