Articles | Volume 21, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1985-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1985-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Apr 2024
Research article |
| 23 Apr 2024
| 23 Apr 2024
Testing the influence of light on nitrite cycling in the eastern tropical North Pacific
Nicole M. Travis
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
present address: Department of Oceanography, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Colette L. Kelly
Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
present address: Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Karen L. Casciotti
Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Oceans Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Related authors
Colette L. Kelly, Nicole M. Travis, Pascale Anabelle Baya, Claudia Frey, Xin Sun, Bess B. Ward, and Karen L. Casciotti
Biogeosciences, 21, 3215–3238, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3215-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3215-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, accumulates in regions of the ocean that are low in dissolved oxygen. We used a novel combination of chemical tracers to determine how nitrous oxide is produced in one of these regions, the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. Our experiments showed that the two most important sources of nitrous oxide under low-oxygen conditions are denitrification, an anaerobic process, and a novel “hybrid” process performed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea.
Nicole M. Travis, Colette L. Kelly, Margaret R. Mulholland, and Karen L. Casciotti
Biogeosciences, 20, 325–347, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-325-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The primary nitrite maximum is a ubiquitous upper ocean feature where nitrite accumulates, but we still do not understand its formation and the co-occurring microbial processes involved. Using correlative methods and rates measurements, we found strong spatial patterns between environmental conditions and depths of the nitrite maxima, but not the maximum concentrations. Nitrification was the dominant source of nitrite, with occasional high nitrite production from phytoplankton near the coast.
Colette L. Kelly, Nicole M. Travis, Pascale Anabelle Baya, Claudia Frey, Xin Sun, Bess B. Ward, and Karen L. Casciotti
Biogeosciences, 21, 3215–3238, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3215-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3215-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, accumulates in regions of the ocean that are low in dissolved oxygen. We used a novel combination of chemical tracers to determine how nitrous oxide is produced in one of these regions, the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. Our experiments showed that the two most important sources of nitrous oxide under low-oxygen conditions are denitrification, an anaerobic process, and a novel “hybrid” process performed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea.
Nicole M. Travis, Colette L. Kelly, Margaret R. Mulholland, and Karen L. Casciotti
Biogeosciences, 20, 325–347, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-325-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The primary nitrite maximum is a ubiquitous upper ocean feature where nitrite accumulates, but we still do not understand its formation and the co-occurring microbial processes involved. Using correlative methods and rates measurements, we found strong spatial patterns between environmental conditions and depths of the nitrite maxima, but not the maximum concentrations. Nitrification was the dominant source of nitrite, with occasional high nitrite production from phytoplankton near the coast.
Cited articles
Babbin, A. R., Casciotti, K. L., and Woosley, R.: Bottle data and chemical analysis from Falkor cruise FK180624 in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean in 2018, Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) [data set], https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.832389.1, 2021.
Beman, J. M., Popp, B. N., and Francis, C. A.: Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California, ISME J., 2, 429–441, https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2007.118, 2008.
Beman, J. M., Popp, B. N., and Alford, S. E.: Quantification of ammonia oxidation rates and ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria at high resolution in the Gulf of California and eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 57, 711–726, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2012.57.3.0711, 2012.
Beman, J. M., Shih, J. L., and Popp, B. N.: Nitrite oxidation in the upper water column and oxygen minimum zone of the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean, ISME J., 7, 2192–2205, https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.96, 2013.
Berges, J.: Miniview: algal nitrate reductases, Eur. J. Phycol., 32, 3–8, https://doi.org/10.1080/09541449710001719315, 1997.
Berges, J. A. and Harrison, P.: Nitrate reductase activity quantitatively predicts the rate of nitrate incorporation under steady state light limitation: a revised assay and characterization of the enzyme in three species of marine phytoplankton, Limnol. Oceanogr., 40, 82–93, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1995.40.1.0082, 1995.
Berges, J. A., Cochlan, W. P., and Harrison, P. J.: Laboratory and field responses of algal nitrate reductase to diel periodicity in irradiance, nitrate exhaustion, and the presence of ammonium, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 124, 259–269, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps124259, 1995.
Berube, P. M., O'Keefe, T. J., Rasmussen, A., LeMaster, T., and Chisholm, S. W.: Production and cross-feeding of nitrite within Prochlorococcus populations, mBio, 14, e01236-23, https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01236-23, 2023.
Böhlke, J. K., Mroczkowski, S. J., and Coplen, T. B.: Oxygen isotopes in nitrate: new reference materials for 18O : 17O : 16O measurements and observations on nitrate-water equilibration: Reference materials for O-isotopes in nitrate, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 17, 1835–1846, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.1123, 2003.
Brandhorst, W.: Nitrite Accumulation in the North-East Tropical Pacific, Nature, 182, 679–679, https://doi.org/10.1038/182679a0, 1958.
Carlucci, A. F., Hartwig, E. O., and Bowes, P. M.: Biological production of nitrite in seawater, Mar. Biol., 7, 161–166, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354921, 1970.
Casciotti, K. L., Böhlke, J. K., McIlvin, M. R., Mroczkowski, S. J., and Hannon, J. E.: Oxygen isotopes in nitrite: analysis, calibration, and equilibration, Anal. Chem., 79, 2427–2436, https://doi.org/10.1021/ac061598h, 2007.
Clark, D. R., Flynn, K. J., and Owens, N. J.: The large capacity for dark nitrate-assimilation in diatoms may overcome nitrate limitation of growth, New Phytol., 155, 101–108, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00435.x, 2002.
Clark, D. R., Rees, A. P., and Joint, I.: Ammonium regeneration and nitrification rates in the oligotrophic Atlantic Ocean: Implications for new production estimates, Limnol. Oceanogr., 53, 52–62, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2008.53.1.0052, 2008.
Collos, Y.: Nitrate uptake, nitrite release and uptake, and new production estimates, Mar. Ecol. Prog., 171, 293–301, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps171293, 1998.
Collos, Y. and Berges, J.: Nitrogen metabolism in phytoplankton, in: Marine Ecology, Eolss Publishers, Oxford, United Kingdom, ISBN: 978-1-84826-014-6, 2003.
Dortch, Q., Clayton, J., Thoresen, S., and Ahmed, S.: Species differences in accumulation of nitrogen pools in phytoplankton, Mar. Biol., 81, 237–250, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00393218, 1984.
Dugdale, R. C. and Wilkerson, F. P.: The use of 15N to measure nitrogen uptake in eutrophic oceans; experimental considerations, Limnol. Oceanogr., 31, 673–689, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1986.31.4.0673, 1986.
Fernández, E., Llamas, Á., and Galván, A.: Nitrogen Assimilation and its Regulation, Chap. 3, in: The Chlamydomonas Sourcebook, 2nd Edn., edited by: Harris, E. H., Stern, D. B., and Witman, G. B., Academic Press, London, 69–113, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-370873-1.00011-3, 2009.
Francis, C. A., Roberts, K. J., Beman, J. M., Santoro, A. E., and Oakley, B. B.: Ubiquity and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea in water columns and sediments of the ocean, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102, 14683–14688, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0506625102, 2005.
Frey, C., Sun, X., Szemberski, L., Casciotti, K. L., Garcia-Robledo, E., Jayakumar, A., Kelly, C. L., Lehmann, M. F., and Ward, B. B.: Kinetics of nitrous oxide production from ammonia oxidation in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific, Limnol. Oceanogr., 68, 424–438, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.12283, 2023.
Granger, J. and Sigman, D. M.: Removal of nitrite with sulfamic acid for nitrate N and O isotope analysis with the denitrifier method, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 23, 3753–3762, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.4307, 2009.
Guerrero, M. A. and Jones, R. D.: Photoinhibition of marine nitrifying bacteria, I. Wavelength-dependent response, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 141, 183–192, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps141183, 1996a.
Guerrero, M. A. and Jones, R. D.: Photoinhibition of marine nitrifying bacteria, II. Dark recovery after monochromatic or polychromatic irradiation, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 141, 193–198, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps141193, 1996b.
Haas, S., Robicheau, B. M., Rakshit, S., Tolman, J., Algar, C. K., LaRoche, J., and Wallace, D. W. R.: Physical mixing in coastal waters controls and decouples nitrification via biomass dilution, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 118, e2004877118, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004877118, 2021.
Hattori, A. and Wada, E.: Nitrite distribution and its regulating processes in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, Deep-Sea Res., 18, 557–568, https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-7471(71)90122-7, 1971.
Heiss, E. M. and Fulweiler, R. W.: Coastal water column ammonium and nitrite oxidation are decoupled in summer, Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 178, 110–119, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.06.002, 2016.
Herbland, A. and Voituriez, B.: Hydrological structure analysis for estimating the primary production in the tropical Atlantic Ocean, J. Mar. Res., 37, 87–101, https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/journal_of_marine_research/1461 (last access: 10 March 2021), 1979.
Holmes, R. M., Aminot, A., Kérouel, R., Hooker, B. A., and Peterson, B. J.: A simple and precise method for measuring ammonium in marine and freshwater ecosystems, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 56, 1801–1808, https://doi.org/10.1139/f99-128, 1999.
Hooper, A. B. and Terry, K. R.: Photoinactivation of ammonia oxidation in Nitrosomonas, J. Bacteriol., 119, 899–906, https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.119.3.899-906.1974, 1974.
Horak, R. E. A., Qin, W., Schauer, A. J., Armbrust, E. V., Ingalls, A. E., Moffett, J. W., Stahl, D. A., and Devol, A. H.: Ammonia oxidation kinetics and temperature sensitivity of a natural marine community dominated by Archaea, ISME J., 7, 2023–2033, https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.75, 2013.
Horak, R. E. A., Qin, W., Bertagnolli, A. D., Nelson, A., Heal, K. R., Han, H., Heller, M., Schauer, A. J., Jeffrey, W. H., Armbrust, E. V., Moffett, J. W., Ingalls, A. E., Stahl, D. A., and Devol, A. H.: Relative impacts of light, temperature, and reactive oxygen on thaumarchaeal ammonia oxidation in the North Pacific Ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 63, 741–757, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10665, 2018.
Horrigan, S. and Springer, A.: Oceanic and estuarine ammonium oxidation: effects of light, Limnol. Oceanogr., 35, 479–482, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1990.35.2.0479, 1990.
Kelly, C. L., Travis, N. M., Baya, P. A., and Casciotti, K. L.: Quantifying Nitrous Oxide Cycling Regimes in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean With Isotopomer Analysis, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 35, e2020GB006637, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GB006637, 2021.
Kiefer, D., Olson, R., and Holm-Hansen, O.: Another look at the nitrite and chlorophyll maxima in the central North Pacific, Deep-Sea Res. Oceanogr. Abstr., 23, 1199–1208, https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-7471(76)90895-0, 1976.
Lomas, M., Rumpley, C., and Gilbert, P.: Ammonium release by nitrogen sufficient diatoms in response to rapid increases in irradiance, J. Plank. Res., 22, 2351–2366, https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/22.12.2351, 2000.
Lomas, M. W. and Glibert, P. M.: Temperature regulation of nitrate uptake: A novel hypothesis about nitrate uptake and reduction in cool-water diatoms, Limnol. Oceanogr., 44, 556–572, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1999.44.3.0556, 1999.
Lomas, M. W. and Glibert, P. M.: Comparisons of nitrate uptake, storage, and reduction in marine diatoms and flagellates, J. Phycol., 36, 903–913, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1529-8817.2000.99029.x, 2000.
Lomas, M. W. and Lipschultz, F.: Forming the primary nitrite maximum: Nitrifiers or phytoplankton?, Limnol. Oceanogr., 51, 2453–2467, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2006.51.5.2453, 2006.
MacIsaac, J. J. and Dugdale, R. C.: The kinetics of nitrate and ammonia uptake by natural populations of marine phytoplankton, Deep-Sea Res. Oceanogr. Abstr., 16, 45–57, https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-7471(69)90049-7, 1969.
MacIsaac, J. J. and Dugdale, R. C.: Interactions of light and inorganic nitrogen in controlling nitrogen uptake in the sea, Deep-Sea Res. Oceanogr. Abstr., 19, 209–232, https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-7471(72)90032-0, 1972.
Mackey, K. R., Bristow, L., Parks, D. R., Altabet, M. A., Post, A. F., and Paytan, A.: The influence of light on nitrogen cycling and the primary nitrite maximum in a seasonally stratified sea, Prog. Ocean., 91, 545–560, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2011.09.001, 2011.
Martinez, R.: Transient nitrate uptake and assimilation in Skeletonema costatum cultures subject to nitrate starvation under low irradiance, J. Plank. Res., 13, 499–512, https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/13.3.499, 1991.
McIlvin, M. R. and Altabet, M. A.: Chemical conversion of nitrate and nitrite to nitrous oxide for nitrogen and oxygen isotopic analysis in freshwater and seawater, Anal. Chem., 77, 5589–5595, https://doi.org/10.1021/ac050528s, 2005.
McIlvin, M. R. and Casciotti, K. L.: Technical updates to the bacterial method for nitrate isotopic analyses, Anal. Chem., 83, 1850–1856, https://doi.org/10.1021/ac1028984, 2011.
Meeder, E., Mackey, K. R., Paytan, A., Shaked, Y., Iluz, D., Stambler, N., Rivlin, T., Post, A. F., and Lazar, B.: Nitrite dynamics in the open ocean-clues from seasonal and diurnal variations, Mar. Ecol.Prog. Ser., 453, 11–26, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09525, 2012.
Merbt, S. N., Stahl, D. A., Casamayor, E. O., Martí, E., Nicol, G. W., and Prosser, J. I.: Differential photoinhibition of bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidation, FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 327, 41–46, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.2011.02457.x, 2012.
Miller, J. C. and Miller, J. N.: Basic Statistical Methods for Analytical Chemistry, Part 1: Statistics of Repeated Measurements A Review, Analyst, 113, 1351–1356, https://doi.org/10.1039/AN9881301351, 1988.
Milligan, A. J. and Harrison, P. J.: Effects of non-steady-state iron limitation on nitrogen assimilatory enzymes in the marine diatom thalassiosira weissflogii (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE), J. Phycol., 36, 78–86, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1529-8817.2000.99013.x, 2000.
Olson, R. J.: Differential photoinhibition of marine nitrifying bacteria: a possible mechanism for the formation of the primary nitrite maximum, J. Mar. Res., 39, 227–238, https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/journal_of_marine_research/1541 (last access: 10 March 2021), 1981a.
Olson, R. J.: N-15 tracer studies of the primary nitrite maximum, J. Mar. Res., 39, 203–226, https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/journal_of_marine_research/1540 (last access: 10 March 2021), 1981b.
Olson, R. J., Soohoo, J. B., and Kiefer, D. A.: Steady-state Growth of the Marine Diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana uncoupled kinetics of nitrate uptake and nitrite production, Plant physiol., 66, 383–389, https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.66.3.383, 1980.
Qin, W., Amin, S. A., Martens-Habbena, W., Walker, C. B., Urakawa, H., Devol, A. H., Ingalls, A. E., Moffett, J. W., Armbrust, E. V., and Stahl, D. A.: Marine ammonia-oxidizing archaeal isolates display obligate mixotrophy and wide ecotypic variation, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 111, 12504–12509, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1324115111, 2014.
Rajaković, L. V., Marković, D. D., Rajaković-Ognjanović, V. N., and Antanasijević, D. Z.: The approaches for estimation of limit of detection for ICP-MS trace analysis of arsenic, Talanta, 102, 79–87, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2012.08.016, 2012.
Saito, M. A., McIlvin, M. R., Moran, D. M., Santoro, A. E., Dupont, C. L., Rafter, P. A., Saunders, J. K., Kaul, D., Lamborg, C. H., Westley, M., Valois, F., and Waterbury, J. B.: Abundant nitrite-oxidizing metalloenzymes in the mesopelagic zone of the tropical Pacific Ocean, Nat. Geosci., 13, 355–362, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0565-6, 2020.
Santoro, A. E., Casciotti, K. L., and Francis, C. A.: Activity, abundance and diversity of nitrifying archaea and bacteria in the central California Current, Environ. Microbiol., 12, 1989–2006, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02205.x, 2010.
Santoro, A. E., Sakamoto, C. M., Smith, J. M., Plant, J. N., Gehman, A. L., Worden, A. Z., Johnson, K. S., Francis, C. A., and Casciotti, K. L.: Measurements of nitrite production in and around the primary nitrite maximum in the central California Current, Biogeosciences, 10, 7395–7410, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7395-2013, 2013.
Sanz-Luque, E., Chamizo-Ampudia, A., Llamas, A., Galvan, A., and Fernandez, E.: Understanding nitrate assimilation and its regulation in microalgae, Front. Plant Sci., 6, 899, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00899, 2015.
Sato, M., Hirata, K., Shiozaki, T., and Takeda, S.: Effects of iron and light on microbial nitrogen cycles in the primary nitrite maxima of the eastern Indian Ocean, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 185, 103808, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103808, 2022.
Schaefer, S. C. and Hollibaugh, J. T.: Temperature Decouples Ammonium and Nitrite Oxidation in Coastal Waters, Environ. Sci. Technol., 51, 3157–3164, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b03483, 2017.
Sciandra, A. and Amara, R.: Effects of nitrogen limitation on growth and nitrite excretion rates of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minumum, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 105, 301–309, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps105301, 1994.
Sigman, D. M., Casciotti, K. L., Andreani, M., Barford, C., Galanter, M., and Böhlke, J. K.: A Bacterial Method for the Nitrogen Isotopic Analysis of Nitrate in Seawater and Freshwater, Anal. Chem., 73, 4145–4153, https://doi.org/10.1021/ac010088e, 2001.
Smith, J. M., Chavez, F. P., and Francis, C. A.: Ammonium uptake by phytoplankton regulates nitrification in the sunlit ocean, PloS One, 9, e108173, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108173, 2014.
Strickland, J. D. and Parsons, T. R.: A practical handbook of seawater analysis, 2nd Edn., Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Ottowa, Canada, https://doi.org/10.25607/OBP-1791, 1972.
Sun, X., Frey, C., Garcia-Robledo, E., Jayakumar, A., and Ward, B. B.: Microbial niche differentiation explains nitrite oxidation in marine oxygen minimum zones, ISME J., 15, 1317–1329, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-00852-3, 2021.
Travis, N. M., Kelly, C. L., Mulholland, M. R., and Casciotti, K. L.: Nitrite cycling in the primary nitrite maxima of the eastern tropical North Pacific, Biogeosciences, 20, 325–347, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-325-2023, 2023a.
Travis, N. M., Kelly, C., and Casciotti, K.: Table of experimental rates of ammonia oxidation, nitrite oxidation, nitrate reduction, and nitrite uptake from the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean, Stanford Digital Repository [data set], https://doi.org/10.25740/ds821fj1220, 2023b.
Vaccaro, R. F. and Ryther, J. H.: Marine Phytoplankton and the Distribution of Nitrite in the Sea, ICES J. Mar. Sci., 25, 260–271, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/25.3.260, 1960.
Wada, E. and Hattori, A.: Nitrite metabolism in the euphotic layer of the central North Pacific Ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 16, 766–772, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1971.16.5.0766, 1971.
Wan, X. S., Sheng, H.-X., Dai, M., Zhang, Y., Shi, D., Trull, T. W., Zhu, Y., Lomas, M. W., and Kao, S.-J.: Ambient nitrate switches the ammonium consumption pathway in the euphotic ocean, Nat. Commun., 9, 915, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03363-0, 2018.
Wan, X. S., Sheng, H., Dai, M., Church, M. J., Zou, W., Li, X., Hutchins, D. A., Ward, B. B., and Kao, S.: Phytoplankton-nitrifier interactions control the geographic distribution of nitrite in the upper ocean, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 35, e2021GB007072, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007072, 2021.
Ward, B. B.: Light and substrate concentration relationships with marine ammonium assimilation and oxidation rates, Mar. Chem., 16, 301–316, https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4203(85)90052-0, 1985.
Ward, B. B.: Temporal variability in nitrification rates and related biogeochemical factors in Monterey Bay, California, USA, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 292, 97–109, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps292097, 2005.
Ward, B. B. and Casciotti, K. L.: Bottle data from CTD casts conducted on R/V Sally Ride cruise SR1805 in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean from March to April 2018, Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) [data set], https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.854091.1, 2021.
Xu, M. N., Li, X., Shi, D., Zhang, Y., Dai, M., Huang, T., Glibert, P. M., and Kao, S.: Coupled effect of substrate and light on assimilation and oxidation of regenerated nitrogen in the euphotic ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 64, 1270–1283, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11114, 2019.
Zakem, E. J., Al-Haj, A., Church, M. J., van Dijken, G. L., Dutkiewicz, S., Foster, S. Q., Fulweiler, R. W., Mills, M. M., and Follows, M. J.: Ecological control of nitrite in the upper ocean, Nat. Commun., 9, 1206, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03553-w, 2018.
Short summary
We conducted experimental manipulations of light level on microbial communities from the primary nitrite maximum. Overall, while individual microbial processes have different directions and magnitudes in their response to increasing light, the net community response is a decline in nitrite production with increasing light. We conclude that while increased light may decrease net nitrite production, high-light conditions alone do not exclude nitrification from occurring in the surface ocean.
We conducted experimental manipulations of light level on microbial communities from the primary...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint