Articles | Volume 20, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3073-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3073-2023
Research article
 | 
31 Jul 2023
Research article |  | 31 Jul 2023

Absence of photophysiological response to iron addition in autumn phytoplankton in the Antarctic sea-ice zone

Asmita Singh, Susanne Fietz, Sandy J. Thomalla, Nicolas Sanchez, Murat V. Ardelan, Sébastien Moreau, Hanna M. Kauko, Agneta Fransson, Melissa Chierici, Saumik Samanta, Thato N. Mtshali, Alakendra N. Roychoudhury, and Thomas J. Ryan-Keogh

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Cited articles

Ardyna, M., Lacour, L., Sergi, S., D'Ovidio, F., Sallée, J. B., Rembauville, M., Blain, S., Tagliabue, A., Schlitzer, R., Jeandel, C., and Arrigo, K.R.: Hydrothermal vents trigger massive phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean, Nat. Commun., 10, 2451, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09973-6, 2019. 
Assmy, P., Fernández-Méndez, M., Duarte, P., Meyer, A., Randelhoff, A., Mundy, C. J., Olsen, L. M., Kauko, H. M., Bailey, A., Chierici, M., and Cohen, L.: Leads in Arctic pack ice enable early phytoplankton blooms below snow-covered sea ice, Sci. Rep., 7, 40850, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep40850, 2017. 
Bazzani, E., Lauritano, C., and Saggiomo, M.: Southern Ocean Iron Limitation of Primary Production between Past Knowledge and Future Projections, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11, 272, https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11020272, 2023. 
Biggs, T. E., Huisman, J., and Brussaard, C. P.: Viral lysis modifies seasonal phytoplankton dynamics and carbon flow in the Southern Ocean, ISME J., 15, 3615–3622, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-01033-6, 2021. 
Biggs, T. E. G., Rozema, P. D., Evans, C., Timmermans, K. R., Meredith, M. P., Pond, D. W., and Brussaard, C. P. D.: Control of Antarctic phytoplankton community composition and standing stock by light availability, Polar Biol., 45, 1635–1653, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03094-5, 2022. 
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Short summary
Despite the scarcity of iron in the Southern Ocean, seasonal blooms occur due to changes in nutrient and light availability. Surprisingly, during an autumn bloom in the Antarctic sea-ice zone, the results from incubation experiments showed no significant photophysiological response of phytoplankton to iron addition. This suggests that ambient iron concentrations were sufficient, challenging the notion of iron deficiency in the Southern Ocean through extended iron-replete post-bloom conditions.
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