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Resource-Limited Heterotrophic Prokaryote Production and Its Potential Environmental Impact Associated with Mn Nodule Exploitation in the Northeast Equatorial Pacific

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Abstract

Shipboard enrichment incubation experiments were performed to elucidate the limiting resources for heterotrophic prokaryotic production and to discuss the potential impact of bottom water and sediment discharges in relation to manganese (Mn) nodule exploitation on the heterotrophic prokaryotes in the oligotrophic northeast equatorial Pacific. Compared to an unamended control, the production of heterotrophic prokaryotes increased 25-fold in water samples supplemented with amino acids (i.e., organic carbon plus nitrogen), whereas the production increased five and two times, respectively, in samples supplemented with either glucose or ammonium alone. These results indicate that heterotrophic prokaryote production in the northeast equatorial Pacific was co-limited by the availability of dissolved organic carbon and inorganic nitrogen. In samples from the nutrient-depleted surface mixed layer (10-m depth), the addition of a slurry of bottom water and sediment doubled heterotrophic prokaryote production compared to an unamended control, whereas sonicating the slurry prior to addition quadrupled the production rate. However, little difference was observed between an unamended control and slurry-amended samples in the subsurface chlorophyll a (Chl a) maximum (SCM) layer. Thus, the impact of slurry discharge is more significant at the nutrient-depleted surface mixed layer than at the high-nutrient SCM layer. The greatly enhanced prokaryote production resulting from the addition of sonicated slurry further suggests that dissociated organic carbon may directly stimulate heterotrophic prokaryote production in the surface mixed layer. Overall, the results suggest that the surface discharge of bottom water and sediments during manganese nodule exploitation could have a significant environmental impact on the production of heterotrophic prokaryotes that are currently resource limited.

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Acknowledgments

I thank the captain and crews of R/V Onnuri and research staffs of the KODOS program. Two anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their comments that improved the early version of the manuscript. Shipboard experimental results were obtained by a grant from Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (PM00104), and revisiting to interpret the original data for publication was possible by the grant from Basic Research Program of KORDI (PE97003 and PE97103).

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  1. Department of Environmental Marine Sciences, Hanyang University, 1271 Sa-1 dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 426-791, South Korea

    Jung-Ho Hyun

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Hyun, JH. Resource-Limited Heterotrophic Prokaryote Production and Its Potential Environmental Impact Associated with Mn Nodule Exploitation in the Northeast Equatorial Pacific. Microb Ecol 52, 244–252 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9012-5

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