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Title: A nutrient limitation mosaic in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean

Journal Article · · Deep-Sea Research. Part 2. Topical Studies in Oceanography
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4]
  1. Bigelow Lab. for Ocean Sciences, Boothbay, ME (United States)
  2. Bigelow Lab. for Ocean Sciences, Boothbay, ME (United States); Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, ME (United States)
  3. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  4. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)

The Indian Ocean accounts for about one fifth of global ocean net primary production but remains undersampled relative to other major ocean basins. The eastern tropical Indian Ocean is characterized by extremely low concentrations of both macronutrients and the micronutrient iron. In this work, we measured concentrations of dissolved and particulate trace metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb) in the upper ocean along the GO-SHIP IO9N transect (28° S to 17° N, mostly along the 95° E meridian) during a cruise in April 2016. Cellular quotas (metal/C) of Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn were measured in small eukaryotic flagellates (2-7 μm). Deckboard bottle incubation experiments were conducted at one station in each of three putative biogeochemical regions: southern Indian Ocean gyre (S10, 28-10° S); equatorial Indian Ocean (EqIO, 10° S - 5° N); Bay of Bengal (BoB, 5-17° N). Nitrate and phosphate were below detection limits in surface waters across the transect. Dissolved and particulate Fe were < 0.2 nM south of 10° N and lowest in the EqIO. Cellular Fe/C quotas were approximately 6 μmoL/mol and did not vary along the transect, nor did cellular Mn/C or Co/C quotas. Cellular Ni/C and Zn/C quotas were significantly higher at the southern terminus. Nutrient addition experiments indicated that N was the primary limiting nutrient for autotrophs using chlorophyll $$a$$ as a proxy, but biomass measurements of specific phytoplankton groups pointed to a more complex nutrient limitation mosaic. Prochlorococcus was limited by N in the EqIO but by multiple nutrients (N, P, and/or Fe) in the BoB. Synechococcus was limited by N in the EqIO and BoB, while small (< 20 μm) eukaryotic phytoplankton were limited by N in the EqIO and by multiple nutrients in the BoB. Stoichiometric comparisons of cells and underlying source waters indicate a gradient of N and Fe stress along the transect. These data demonstrate that autotroph communities are poised near multiple nutrient limitation horizons in extremely oligotrophic waters far from micronutrient sources.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; NSF OCE-1559021; NSF OCE-1559002
OSTI ID:
1601447
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1693987
Journal Information:
Deep-Sea Research. Part 2. Topical Studies in Oceanography, Vol. 166, Issue C; ISSN 0967-0645
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 26 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Linking regional shifts in microbial genome adaptation with surface ocean biogeochemistry
  • Garcia, Catherine A.; Hagstrom, George I.; Larkin, Alyse A.
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 375, Issue 1798 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0254
journal March 2020
Subtle biogeochemical regimes in the Indian Ocean revealed by spatial and diel frequency of Prochlorococcus haplotypes journal January 2020


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