The phytoplankton is at the base of the plankton food web in large parts of oceanic "deserts" such as the South Pacific Ocean, where nitrogen sources limit activity. Mesocosms were fertilized with phosphorus to stimulate diazotrophy (atmospheric N₂ fixation). Mostly diazotroph-derived nitrogen fuelled the heterotrophic bacterial community through indirect processes generating dissolved organic matter and detritus, such as mortality, lysis and grazing of both diazotrophs and non-diazotrophs.