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Evidence for high iron requirements of colonial Phaeocystis antarctica at low irradiance

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Abstract

We have carried out field and laboratory experiments to examine the iron requirements of colonial Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea. In December 2003, we performed an iron/light-manipulation bioassay experiment in the Ross Sea polynya, using an algal assemblage dominated by colonial Phaeocystis antarctica, collected from surface waters with an ambient dissolved Fe concentration of ∼0.4 nM. Results from this experiment suggest that P. antarctica growth rates were enhanced at high irradiance (∼50% of incident surface irradiance) but were unaffected by iron addition, and that elevated irradiance mediated a significant decrease in cellular chlorophyll a content. We also conducted a laboratory iron dose–response bioassay experiment using a unialgal, non-axenic strain of colonial P. antarctica and low-iron (<0.2 nM) filtered seawater, both collected from the Ross Sea polynya in December 2003. By using rigorous trace-metal clean techniques, we performed this dose–response iron-addition experiment at ∼0°C without using organic chelating reagents to control dissolved iron levels. At the relatively low irradiance of this experiment (∼20 μE m−2 s−1), estimated nitrate-specific growth rate as a function of dissolved iron concentration can be described by a Monod relationship, yielding a half-saturation constant with respect to growth of 0.45 nM dissolved iron. This value is relatively high compared to reported estimates for other Antarctic phytoplankton. Our results suggest that seasonal changes in the availability of both iron and light play critical roles in limiting the growth and biomass of colonial Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea polynya.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the officers and crew of the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer, and Raytheon Polar Services Company personnel for their outstanding support in the field. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful criticisms and suggestions. This work has benefited from discussions with Veronique Schoemann, Walker Smith, and Alessandro Tagliabue. Funding for this research was provided by US National Science Foundation grants OPP-0230559 (PNS), OPP-0230513 (GRD) and DGE-0139313 (NSG through M. Vansickle and G. Tempel).

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  1. Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Ferry Reach, St. George’s, GE01, Bermuda

    P. N. Sedwick & C. M. Marsay

  2. College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA

    N. S. Garcia, S. F. Riseman & G. R. DiTullio

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  1. P. N. Sedwick
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  2. N. S. Garcia
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Sedwick, P.N., Garcia, N.S., Riseman, S.F. et al. Evidence for high iron requirements of colonial Phaeocystis antarctica at low irradiance. Biogeochemistry 83, 83–97 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-007-9081-7

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