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Assay of Algal Nitrogen Fixation in the Marine Subtropics by Acetylene Reduction

Abstract

WHILE SCUBA diving in the Tongue of the Ocean (Bahamas) and off the coast of south-eastern Florida near Miami, we found extensive benthic growths of blue-green, algae, which are especially prolific between depths of 20 and 50 m, and considerably more abundant in summer than winter. At their peak, the algae produce continuous, and sometimes almost unialgal felts at the surface of calcareous sediments between and beyond the limit of the coral heads of the offshore reef. During the winter they persist in isolated patches in sheltered positions beneath overhanging coral.

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BUNT, J., COOKSEY, K., HEEB, M. et al. Assay of Algal Nitrogen Fixation in the Marine Subtropics by Acetylene Reduction. Nature 227, 1163–1164 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2271163a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2271163a0

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