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Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea

Supply of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) to the biosphere has tripled since 1960; however, little is known of how in situ response to N fertilisation differs among phytoplankton, whether species response varies with the chemical form of N, or how interpretation of N effects is influenced by the method o...

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Autores principales: Donald, Derek B., Bogard, Matthew J., Finlay, Kerri, Bunting, Lynda, Leavitt, Peter R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3547936/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23349705
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053277
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author Donald, Derek B.
Bogard, Matthew J.
Finlay, Kerri
Bunting, Lynda
Leavitt, Peter R.
author_facet Donald, Derek B.
Bogard, Matthew J.
Finlay, Kerri
Bunting, Lynda
Leavitt, Peter R.
author_sort Donald, Derek B.
collection PubMed
description Supply of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) to the biosphere has tripled since 1960; however, little is known of how in situ response to N fertilisation differs among phytoplankton, whether species response varies with the chemical form of N, or how interpretation of N effects is influenced by the method of analysis (microscopy, pigment biomarkers). To address these issues, we conducted two 21-day in situ mesocosm (3140 L) experiments to quantify the species- and genus-specific responses of phytoplankton to fertilisation of P-rich lake waters with ammonium (NH(4) (+)), nitrate (NO(3) (−)), and urea ([NH(2)](2)CO). Phytoplankton abundance was estimated using both microscopic enumeration of cell densities and high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis of algal pigments. We found that total algal biomass increased 200% and 350% following fertilisation with NO(3) (−) and chemically-reduced N (NH(4) (+), urea), respectively, although 144 individual taxa exhibited distinctive responses to N, including compound-specific stimulation (Planktothrix agardhii and NH(4) (+)), increased biomass with chemically-reduced N alone (Scenedesmus spp., Coelastrum astroideum) and no response (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Ceratium hirundinella). Principle components analyses (PCA) captured 53.2–69.9% of variation in experimental assemblages irrespective of the degree of taxonomic resolution of analysis. PCA of species-level data revealed that congeneric taxa exhibited common responses to fertilisation regimes (e.g., Microcystis aeruginosa, M. flos-aquae, M. botrys), whereas genera within the same division had widely divergent responses to added N (e.g., Anabaena, Planktothrix, Microcystis). Least-squares regression analysis demonstrated that changes in phytoplankton biomass determined by microscopy were correlated significantly (p<0.005) with variations in HPLC-derived concentrations of biomarker pigments (r (2) = 0.13–0.64) from all major algal groups, although HPLC tended to underestimate the relative abundance of cyanobacteria. Together, these findings show that while fertilisation of P-rich lakes with N can increase algal biomass, there is substantial variation in responses of genera and divisions to specific chemical forms of added N.
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spelling pubmed-35479362013-01-24 Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea Donald, Derek B. Bogard, Matthew J. Finlay, Kerri Bunting, Lynda Leavitt, Peter R. PLoS One Research Article Supply of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) to the biosphere has tripled since 1960; however, little is known of how in situ response to N fertilisation differs among phytoplankton, whether species response varies with the chemical form of N, or how interpretation of N effects is influenced by the method of analysis (microscopy, pigment biomarkers). To address these issues, we conducted two 21-day in situ mesocosm (3140 L) experiments to quantify the species- and genus-specific responses of phytoplankton to fertilisation of P-rich lake waters with ammonium (NH(4) (+)), nitrate (NO(3) (−)), and urea ([NH(2)](2)CO). Phytoplankton abundance was estimated using both microscopic enumeration of cell densities and high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis of algal pigments. We found that total algal biomass increased 200% and 350% following fertilisation with NO(3) (−) and chemically-reduced N (NH(4) (+), urea), respectively, although 144 individual taxa exhibited distinctive responses to N, including compound-specific stimulation (Planktothrix agardhii and NH(4) (+)), increased biomass with chemically-reduced N alone (Scenedesmus spp., Coelastrum astroideum) and no response (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Ceratium hirundinella). Principle components analyses (PCA) captured 53.2–69.9% of variation in experimental assemblages irrespective of the degree of taxonomic resolution of analysis. PCA of species-level data revealed that congeneric taxa exhibited common responses to fertilisation regimes (e.g., Microcystis aeruginosa, M. flos-aquae, M. botrys), whereas genera within the same division had widely divergent responses to added N (e.g., Anabaena, Planktothrix, Microcystis). Least-squares regression analysis demonstrated that changes in phytoplankton biomass determined by microscopy were correlated significantly (p<0.005) with variations in HPLC-derived concentrations of biomarker pigments (r (2) = 0.13–0.64) from all major algal groups, although HPLC tended to underestimate the relative abundance of cyanobacteria. Together, these findings show that while fertilisation of P-rich lakes with N can increase algal biomass, there is substantial variation in responses of genera and divisions to specific chemical forms of added N. Public Library of Science 2013-01-17 /pmc/articles/PMC3547936/ /pubmed/23349705 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053277 Text en © 2013 Donald et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Donald, Derek B.
Bogard, Matthew J.
Finlay, Kerri
Bunting, Lynda
Leavitt, Peter R.
Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea
title Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea
title_full Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea
title_fullStr Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea
title_full_unstemmed Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea
title_short Phytoplankton-Specific Response to Enrichment of Phosphorus-Rich Surface Waters with Ammonium, Nitrate, and Urea
title_sort phytoplankton-specific response to enrichment of phosphorus-rich surface waters with ammonium, nitrate, and urea
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3547936/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23349705
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053277
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