Abstract
Alchichica is a saline crater-lake located in Mexico. Tufa grows on its periphery and a wind-driven Nodularia cf. spumigena bloom occurs annually. Fixation rates were assayed by the acetylene reduction method. Here, we describe the patterns of nitrogen fixation on two tufa forms before, during and after the bloom, as well as those from the planktonic cyanobacteria. We also analyzed the effect of ultraviolet radiation (under 390 nm) on the nitrogen fixation rates. Tufa showed light-stimulated nitrogen fixation, while N. cf. spumigena peaks in early morning and midnight. Both tufa forms diminished their nitrogen fixation rates after the planktonic bloom. UV radiation affected negatively nitrogen fixation rates in all forms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alcocer, J., A. Lugo, S. Estrada, M. Ubeda & E. Escobar, 1993. Littoral chironomids of a Mexican Plateau athalassohaline lake. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 25: 444–447.
Alcocer, J., A. Lugo, E. Escobar, M. R. Sanchez & G. Vilaclara, 2001. Water column stratification and its implications in the tropical warm monomictic lake Alchichica, Puebla, Mexico. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 27. In press.
Babu, G. S., P. C., Joshi & P. N. Viswanathan, 1998. UVB-induced reduction in biomass and overall productivity of cyanobacteria. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 244: 138–142.
Bebout, B. M., 1992. Interactions of Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Microbial Mats and Stromatolites, PhD Dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 134 pp.
Brenowitz, S. & R. W. Castenholz, 1997. Long-term effects of UV and visible irradiance on natural populations of a scytonemin-containing cyanobacterium (Calothrix sp.). FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 24: 343–352.
Carpenter, E. J. & D. G. Capone, 1992. Nitrogen fixation in Trichodesmium blooms. In Carpenter, E. J., D. G. Capone & J. G. Reuter (eds), Marine Pelagic Cyanobacteria: Trichodesmium and other Diazotrophs. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht: 211–218.
Castenholz, R. W., 1976. The effect of sulfide on the blue-green algae of hot springs. I. New Zealand and Iceland. J. Phycol. 12: 54–68.
Castenholz, R. W. & F. Garcia-Pichel, 1997. Cyanobacterial responses to UV-radiation. In Whitton, B. A. & M. Potts (eds), Ecology of Cyanobacteria: Their Diversity in Time and Space. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht: 78–89.
Coyer, J. A., A. Cabello-Pasini, H. Swift & R. Alberte, 1996. N2 fixation in marine heterotrophic bacteria: Dynamics of environmental and molecular regulation. Proc. Natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93: 3575–3580.
Dean, D. & M. R. Jacobson, 1992. Biochemical genetics of the Nitrogenase. In Stacey, G., R. H. Burris & H. J. Evans (eds), Biochemical Genetics of the Nitrogenase in Biological Nitrogen Fixation. Chapman & Hall, N.Y.: 763–833.
Des Marais, D. J., 1995. The biogeochemistry of hypersaline microbial mats. Adv. Microb. Ecol. 14: 251–274.
Escobar, E., J. Alcocer, E. Cienfuegos & P. Morales, 1999. Carbon stable isotopes ratios of pelagic and littoral communities in Alchichica crater-lake, Mexico. Int. J. Salt Lake Res. 7: 345–355.
Garcia-Pichel, F., C. W. Wingard & R. W. Castenholtz, 1993. Evidence regarding the UV sunscreen role of a mycosporine-like compound in the cyanobacterium Gloeocapsa sp. Apl. Envir. Microbiol. 59: 170–176.
Haselkorn, R., 1986. Organization of the genes for nitrogen fixation in photosynthetic bacteria and cyanobacteria. Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 40: 525–547.
Herbst, D., 1998. Potential salinity limitations in nitrogen fixation in sediments from Mono Lake, California. Int. J. Salt Lake Res. 7: 261–274.
Holm-Hansen, O., D. Lubin & E. W. Heibling, 1993. Ultraviolet radiation and its effect on organisms in aquatic environments. In Young, A. R., L. O. Björn, J. Moan & W. Nultsch (eds), Environmental UV Photobiology. Plenum Press, N.Y.: 379–425.
Howarth, R. W., R. Marino, J. Lane & J. J. Cole, 1988. Nitrogen fixation in freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems. 1. Rates and importance. Limnol. Oceanogr. 33: 669–687.
Khamees, H. S., J. R. Gallon & A. E. Chaplin, 1987. The pattern of acetylene reduction by cyanobacteria grown under alternating light and darkness. Brit. Phycol. J. 22: 55–60.
Kirshtein, J. D., H. W. Paerl & J. Zehr, 1991. Amplification, cloning and sequencing of a nifH segment from aquatic microorganisms and natural communities. Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 57: 2645–2650.
Libes, S. M., 1992. An Introduction to Marine Biogeochemistry. John Wiley & Sons, Inc: 734 pp.
Lugo, A., J. Alcocer, M. Sanchez & E. Escobar, 1993. Trophic status of tropical lakes indicated by littoral protozoan assemblages. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 25: 441–443.
Mitchell, D. L. & D. Karentz, 1993. The induction and repair of DNA photodamage in the environment. In Young, A. R., L. O. Björn, J. Moan W. Nultsch (eds), Environmental UV Photobiology. Plenum Press, N.Y.: 345–377.
Paerl, H. W., J. L. Pickney & S. A. Kucera, 1995. Clarification of the structural and functional roles of heterocysts and anoxic microzones in the control of pelagic nitrogen fixation. Limnol. Oceanogr. 40: 634–638.
Paerl, H. W., 1999. Physical-chemical constraints on cyanobacterial growth in the Oceans. In Charpy, L. & A. W. D. Larkum (eds), Marine Cyanobacteria. Bull. Inst. Oceanol. Monaco. 19: 319–349.
Rastettler, E. B., R. B. McKane, G. R. Shaver & J. B. Melillo, 1992. Changes in C storage by terrestrial ecosystems: how C-N interactions restrict responses to CO2 and temperature. In Wisniewski, J. & A. Lugo (eds), Natural Sinks of CO2. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht: 45–61.
Sprent, J. I. & P. Sprent, 1990. Nitrogen-fixing Organisms: Pure and Applied Aspects. Chapman & Hall, London: 256 pp.
Stal, L. J., 1995. Physiological ecology of cyanobacteria in microbial mats and other communities. Trans. Rev. 84: 1–32.
Stal, L. J., 1999. Nitrogen fixation in microbial mats and stromatolites. In Charpy, L. & A. W. D. Larkum (eds), Marine Cyanobacteria. Bull. Inst. Oceano. Monaco. 19: 357–363.
Tavera, R. & J. Komárek, 1996. Cyanoprokaryotes in the volcanic lake of Alchichica, Puebla State, Mexico. Algal Stud. 83: 511–538.
Thingstad, T. F., M. Heldal, G. Bratback & I. Dundas, 1993. Are viruses important partners in pelagic food webs? Trends. Ecol. Evol.: 209–213.
Vanderhoef, L. N., P. J. Leibson, R. J. Musil, C. Y. Huang, R. E. Fiehweg, J. W. Wiliams, D. L. Waxkwitz & K. T. Mason, 1975. Diurnal variation in algal acetylene reduction (nitrogen fixation) in situ. Plant Physiol. 55: 273–276.
Verschuren, D., C. Cocquyt, J. Tibby, C. N. Roberts & P. R. Leavitt, 1999. Long-term dynamics of algal and invertebrate communities in a small, fluctuating tropical soda lake. Limnol. Oceanogr. 44: 1216–1231.
Walter, M. R., J. P. Grotzinger & J. W. Schopf, 1992. Proterozoic stromatolites. In Schopf, J. W. & C. Klein (eds), The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study. Cambridge University Press, N.Y.: 253–260.
Whitton, B. A., 1987. Survival and dormancy of blue-green algae. In Henis, Y. (ed.), Survival and Dormancy of Microorganisms. Wiley, N.Y.: 109–167.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Falcón, L.I., Escobar-Briones, E., Romero, D. (2002). Nitrogen fixation patterns displayed by cyanobacterial consortia in Alchichica crater-lake, Mexico. In: Alcocer, J., Sarma, S.S.S. (eds) Advances in Mexican Limnology: Basic and Applied Aspects. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 163. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0415-2_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0415-2_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3913-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0415-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive