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The impact of surface-adsorbed phosphorus on phytoplankton Redfield stoichiometry

Abstract

The Redfield ratio of 106 carbon:16 nitrogen:1 phosphorus in marine phytoplankton1 is one of the foundations of ocean biogeochemistry, with applications in algal physiology2, palaeoclimatology3 and global climate change4. However, this ratio varies substantially in response to changes in algal nutrient status5 and taxonomic affiliation6,7. Here we report that Redfield ratios are also strongly affected by partitioning into surface-adsorbed and intracellular phosphorus pools. The C:N:surface-adsorbed P (80–105 C:15–18 N:1 P) and total (71–80 C:13–14 N:1 P) ratios in natural populations and cultures of Trichodesmium were close to Redfield values and not significantly different from each other. In contrast, intracellular ratios consistently exceeded the Redfield ratio (316–434 C:59–83 N:1 intracellular P). These high intracellular ratios were associated with reduced N2 fixation rates, suggestive of phosphorus deficiency. Other algal species also have substantial surface-adsorbed phosphorus pools, suggesting that our Trichodesmium results are generally applicable to all phytoplankton. Measurements of the distinct phytoplankton phosphorus pools may be required to assess nutrient limitation accurately from elemental composition. Deviations from Redfield stoichiometry may be attributable to surface adsorption of phosphorus rather than to biological processes, and this scavenging could affect the interpretation of marine nutrient inventories and ecosystem models.

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Figure 1: Box plots of elemental composition (C, N, P) in the total, surface-adsorbed and intracellular pools in field-collected Trichodesmium colonies from the western subtropical Atlantic Ocean.
Figure 2: Cellular partitioning of phosphorus in phytoplankton.
Figure 3: Effects of P-limited and P-replete growth on intracellular (oxalate-washed) and total cellular (seawater-washed) P content and P uptake rates in laboratory cultures of Trichodesmium IMS101.
Figure 4: Relationship between different phosphorus pools and nitrogen fixation (a) and surface-adsorbed manganese (b).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NSF Chemical and Biological Oceanography and by NOAA Ocean Global Carbon Cycle Program. We are grateful to T. Gunderson and Y. Zhang for technical support.

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Correspondence to Sergio A. Sañudo-Wilhelmy.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Figure 1

Removal efficiency of surface-adsorbed phosphate by the oxalate reagent. (PDF 20 kb)

Supplementary Figure 2

C:N:P content in five different exponential growing phytoplankton cultures washed with either oxalate reagent or filtered seawater. (PDF 27 kb)

Supplementary Figure 3

Relationship of surface-adsorbed phosphorus and molybdenum with surface-adsorbed manganese. (PDF 19 kb)

Supplementary Table 1

Elemental concentrations and ratios measured in Trichodesmium colonies collected on April-May 2003 in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean. (PDF 27 kb)

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Sañudo-Wilhelmy, S., Tovar-Sanchez, A., Fu, FX. et al. The impact of surface-adsorbed phosphorus on phytoplankton Redfield stoichiometry. Nature 432, 897–901 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03125

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