Premium
Ecological dynamics in the subarctic Pacific, a possibly iron‐limited ecosystem
Author(s) -
Miller Charles B.,
Frost Bruce W.,
Wheeler Patricia A.,
Landry Michael R.,
Welschmeyer Nicholas,
Powell Thomas M.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1991.36.8.1600
Subject(s) - subarctic climate , ecosystem , phytoplankton , environmental science , iron fertilization , ecology , nutrient , population , oceanography , abundance (ecology) , terrestrial ecosystem , marine ecosystem , biology , geology , demography , sociology
It has been suggested that production in offshore waters of the subarctic Pacific is limited by availability of dissolved Fe. Although that is not yet adequately established, the functional consequences of the limitation (if it exists) can be characterized from the results of the SUbarctic Pacific Ecosystem Research (SUPER) program. Fe limitation, or something like it, establishes a phytoplankton community dominated by very small cells. These plants are not limited by Fe availability. Rather, their production is limited by their stock and available illumination. Stock is set by microzooplankton grazers with rapid population growth rates and, thus, rapid response to increases in phytoplankton abundance. Micrograzers provide efficient recycling of nitrogen as NH 4 , and the ready availability of NH 4 sharply limits the annual utilization of NO 3 . Persistently high NO 3 concentrations result. Other possibly Fe‐limited, oceanic ecosystems with persistently high, near‐surface nutrients require similar, detailed analysis of ecosystem function.