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Taxon‐specific differences in C/P and N/P drawdown for phytoplankton in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
Author(s) -
Arrigo Kevin R.,
Dunbar Robert B.,
Lizotte Michael P.,
Robinson D. H.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl015277
Subject(s) - drawdown (hydrology) , redfield ratio , phytoplankton , oceanography , sediment , geology , environmental science , sediment trap , biology , ecology , nutrient , geomorphology , water column , geotechnical engineering , aquifer , groundwater
Data from 11 cruises to the Ross Sea, Antarctica show that non‐Redfield N/P and C/P drawdown ratios for diatoms and Phaeocystis antarctica were a consistent feature of the phytoplankton communities between 1990 and 1998. Ratios of N/P drawdown for waters dominated by P. antarctica ranged from 17.2–19.5, consistently exceeding the Redfield ratio of 16. Similarly, the C/P drawdown ratio for P. antarctica ‐dominated waters ranged from 120–154, 13–45% greater than the Redfield ratio of 106. Waters dominated by diatoms exhibited much lower ratios than Redfield for N/P (mean = 11.9) and C/P (mean = 76.2) drawdown. There was no seasonal trend to the drawdown ratios by either taxa. Sediment trap data exhibited C/P ratios for P. antarctica‐ dominated samples that were twice that for diatoms, suggesting that the large taxonomic difference in C/P drawdown ratio is expressed as a difference in particulate C/P ratio which is subsequently exported to depth.