Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2016
Journal
BIOGEOSCIENCES
Volume
13
Issue
10
First Page
3131
Last Page
3145
Abstract
In oligotrophic tropical and subtropical oceans, where strong stratification can limit the replenishment of surface nitrate, dinitrogen (N-2) fixation by diazotrophs can represent a significant source of nitrogen (N) for primary production. The VAHINE (VAriability of vertical and tropHIc transfer of fixed N-2 in the south-wEst Pacific) experiment was designed to examine the fate of diazotroph-derived nitrogen (DDN) in such ecosystems. In austral summer 2013, three large ( similar to aEuro parts per thousand aEuro-50aEuro-m(3)) in situ mesocosms were deployed for 23 days in the New Caledonia lagoon, an ecosystem that typifies the low-nutrient, low-chlorophyll environment, to stimulate diazotroph production. The zooplankton component of the study aimed to measure the incorporation of DDN into zooplankton biomass, and assess the role of direct diazotroph grazing by zooplankton as a DDN uptake pathway. Inside the mesocosms, the diatom-diazotroph association (DDA) het-1 predominated during days 5-15 while the unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria UCYN-C predominated during days 15-23. A Trichodesmium bloom was observed in the lagoon (outside the mesocosms) towards the end of the experiment. The zooplankton community was dominated by copepods (63aEuro-% of total abundance) for the duration of the experiment. Using two-source N isotope mixing models we estimated a mean similar to aEuro parts per thousand aEuro-28aEuro-% contribution of DDN to zooplankton nitrogen biomass at the start of the experiment, indicating that the natural summer peak of N-2 fixation in the lagoon was already contributing significantly to the zooplankton. Stimulation of N-2 fixation in the mesocosms corresponded with a generally low-level enhancement of DDN contribution to zooplankton nitrogen biomass, but with a peak of similar to aEuro parts per thousand aEuro-73aEuro-% in mesocosm 1 following the UCYN-C bloom. qPCR analysis targeting four of the common diazotroph groups present in the mesocosms (Trichodesmium, het-1, het-2, UCYN-C) demonstrated that all four were ingested by copepod grazers, and that their abundance in copepod stomachs generally corresponded with their in situ abundance. N-15(2) labelled grazing experiments therefore provided evidence for direct ingestion and assimilation of UCYN-C-derived N by the zooplankton, but not for het-1 and Trichodesmium, supporting an important role of secondary pathways of DDN to the zooplankton for the latter groups, i.e. DDN contributions to the dissolved N pool and uptake by nondiazotrophs. This study appears to provide the first evidence of direct UCYN-C grazing by zooplankton, and indicates that UCYN-C-derived N contributes significantly to the zooplankton food web in the New Caledonia lagoon through a combination of direct grazing and secondary pathways.
DOI
10.5194/bg-13-3131-2016
Keywords
DISSOLVED ORGANIC NITROGEN; NORTH PACIFIC-OCEAN; MARINE CYANOBACTERIUM TRICHODESMIUM; CORAL-REEF LAGOON; N-2 FIXATION; ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION; DINITROGEN FIXATION; PLANKTON BIOMASS; ATLANTIC-OCEAN; SOUTHERN-OCEAN
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Sponsor
Funding for this research was provided by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR starting grant VAHINE ANR-13-JS06-0002), the INSU-LEFE-CYBER program, GOPS, and IRD. The authors thank the captain and crew of the R/V Alis. We acknowledge the SEOH diver service from IRD Noumea as well as the technical service of the IRD Research Institute of Noumea for their helpful technical support, together with C. Guieu, J.-M. Grisoni, and F. Louis from the Observatoire Oceanologique de Villefranche-sur-mer (OOV) for the mesocosm design and the useful advice. During this project, Brian P. V. Hunt was funded from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 302010 - project ISOZOO. The qPCR work was sponsored by NSF (BIO OCE 0929015) and Knut and Alice Wallenberg grants to Rachel A. Foster. Brandon J. Conroy was supported by NSF project DGE-0840804 and NSF project OCE-0934036 awarded to D. Steinberg.
Recommended Citation
Hunt, Brian P. V.; Bonnet, Sophie; Berthelot, Hugo; Conroy, Brandon J.; Foster, Rachel A.; and Pagano, Marc, Contribution and pathways of diazotroph-derived nitrogen to zooplankton during the VAHINE mesocosm experiment in the oligotrophic New Caledonia lagoon (2016). BIOGEOSCIENCES, 13(10), 3131-3145.
10.5194/bg-13-3131-2016
