Abstract
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient in pelagic marine ecosystems. Phosphorus cycling in the upper ocean is, however, poorly understood, and few studies have directly investigated the biological utilization of this essential element1,2,3,4. Here, we have determined in situ phosphorus-turnover rates in a coastal marine environment by measuring the activities of two cosmogenic radionuclides (32P and 33P, with half lives of 14.3 and 25.3 days, respectively) in dissolved inorganic, dissolved organic and total particulate phosphorus pools over a seasonal cycle. Phosphorus turnover rates within dissolved and particulate pools are rapid and vary over seasonal timescales, suggesting that low phosphorus concentrations can support relatively high primary production. Furthermore, picoplankton, such as bacteria, appear preferentially to utilize certain dissolved organic phosphorus compounds to obtain other associated nutrients, such as carbon and nitrogen. It seems that the significance of the roles of both dissolved inorganic and organic phosphorus in supporting primary production—and, hence, CO2 uptake and particulate organic carbon export—has been hitherto underestimated.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lal, D. & Lee, T. Cosmogenic 32P and 33P as tracers to study phosphorus recycling in the upper ocean. Nature 333, 752–754 (1988).
Orrett, K. & Karl, D. M. Dissolved organic phosphorus production and turnover in surface waters. Limnol. Oceanogr. 32, 383–395 (1987).
Cotner, J. B., Ammerman, J. W., Peele, E. R. & Bentzen, E. Phosphorus limited bacterioplankton growth in the Sargasso Sea. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 13, 141–149 (1997).
Karl, D. M. & Yanagi, K. Partial characterization of the dissolved organic phosphorus pool in the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean. Limnol. Oceanogr. 42, 1398–1405 (1997).
Waser, N. A. D., Bacon, M. P. & Michaels, A. P. Natural activities of 32P and 33P and the 33P/32P ratio in suspended particulate matter and plankton in the Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Res. II 43, 421–436 (1996).
Benitez-Nelson, C. R. & Buesseler, K. O. Measurement of cosmogenic 32P and 33P activities in rainwater and seawater. Anal. Chem. 70, 64–72 (1998).
Benitez-Nelson, C. R. & Buesseler, K. O. 32P, 33P, 7Be, and 210Pb: Atmospheric fluxes and utility in tracing stratosphere troposphere exchange. J. Geophys. Res. (in the press).
Lee, T., Barg, E. & Lal, D. Studies of vertical mixing in the Southern California Bight with cosmogenic radionuclides 32P and 7Be. Liminol. Oceanogr. 36, 1044–1053 (1991).
Lee, T., Barg, E. & Lal, D. Techniques for extraction of dissolved inorganic and organic phosphorus from large volumes of seawater. Anal. Chim. Acta 260, 113–121 (1992).
Waser, N. A. D. & Bacon, M. P. Wet deposition fluxes of cosmogenic 32P and 33P and variations in the 33P/32P ratios at Bermuda. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 133, 71–80 (1995).
O'Reilly, J. E. & Busch, D. A. Phytoplankton primary production on the northwestern Atlantic Shelf. Rapp. P.-v. Reun. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer. 183, 255–268 (1984).
Koroleff, F. in Methods of Seawater Analysis 2nd edn(eds Grasshoff, K., Ehrherd, M. & Kremling, K.) 125–135 (Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, (1983).
Currie, D. J. & Kalff, J. The relative importance of bacterioplankton and phytoplankton in phosphorus uptake in freshwater. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29, 311–321 (1984).
Wheeler, P. A. & Kirchman, D. Utilization of inorganic and organic nitrogen by bacteria in marine systems. Limnol. Oceanogr. 31, 998–1009 (1986).
Cho, B. C. & Azam, F. Major role of bacteria in biogeochemical fluxes in the ocean's interior. Nature 332, 441–443 (1988).
Clark, L. L., Ingall, E. D. & Benner, R. Marine phosphorus is selectively remineralized. Nature 393, 426 (1998).
Ammerman, J. W. & Azam, F. Bacterial 5′-nucleotidase in aquatic ecosystems: A novel mechanism for phosphorus regeneration. Science 227, 1338–1340 (1985).
Ammerman, J. W. in Microbial Enzymes in Aquatic Environments(ed. Chost, R. J.) 165–186 (Springer, New York, (1991).
Bjorkman, K. & Karl, D. M. Bioavailability of inorganic and organic phosphorus compounds to natural assemblages of microorganisms in Hawaiian coastal waters. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 111, 265–273 (1994).
Anderson, O. K., Goldman, J. C., Caron, D. A. & Dennett, M. R. Nutrient cycling in a microflagellate food chain: III. Phosphorus dynamics. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 31, 46–55 (1986).
Barbeau, K., Moffett, J. W., Caron, D. A., Croot, P. L. & Erdner, D. L. Role of protozoan grazing in relieving iron limitation of phytoplankton. Nature 380, 61–64 (1996).
Buesseler, K. O. The decoupling of production and particle export in the surface ocean. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 12, 297–310 (1998).
Marshall, S. M., Conover, R. J. & Orr, A. P. On the biology of Calanus finmarchicus. XII. The phosphorus cycle: excretion, egg production, and autolysis. The turnover of phosphorus by Calanus finmarchicus. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 41, 463–488 (1961).
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank G. Crossin, J. Andrews, L. Ball and C. Tarr for help in sample preparation, collection and purification. We also thank the crew of the RV Cape Hatteras. The manuscript was greatly improved with the help of E. Ingall. This work was supported by NSF, EPA STAR Fellowship Program, and WHOI unrestricted funds.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Benitez-Nelson, C., Buesseler, K. Variability of inorganic and organic phosphorus turnover rates in the coastal ocean. Nature 398, 502–505 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/19061
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/19061
This article is cited by
-
Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling
Nature Communications (2023)
-
Hydrophyte Debris Induced Sedimentary Phosphorus Release in Tuojiang Rivers, China
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (2023)
-
Pack-ice seals contribute to biological transfers of iron in the Southern Ocean
Polar Biology (2023)
-
Phosphorus as an integral component of global marine biogeochemistry
Nature Geoscience (2021)
-
Geochemical contamination in the Densu Estuary, Gulf of Guinea, Ghana
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2020)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.