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Particulate protein-nitrogen in North Atlantic surface waters

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Abstract

Depth profiles of particulate protein-nitrogen at 4 oceanic and 2 upwelling stations in the North Atlantic Ocean were measured by a new fluorometric method. The protein-nitrogen in the upper 20 m ranged from 0.19 to 1.61 μg-at N/1 at the oceanic stations and from 0.43 to 3.54 μg-at/1 at the upwelling stations. The mean values in the euphotic zone were 0.54 μg-at N/1 for the oceanic stations and 1.70 μg-at N/1 for the upwelling stations. The ratio of protein-nitrogen to chlorophyll at the two sets of stations was 2.83 and 0.54 μg-at N/μg chlorophyll, respectively. Regression analysis of the pooled data yielded a detritus and zooplankton-free ratio of 0.38 μg-at N:μg chlorophyll. Calculations of the phytoplankton protein-nitrogen, based on this ratio, suggest that in the oceanic water only 20% of the sestonic protein-nitrogen is associated with the phytoplankton. In the upwelling waters, the phytoplankton may account for 65% of the sestonic proteinnitrogen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    T. T. Packard & Q. Dortch

  2. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science, 04575, West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, USA

    T. T. Packard

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  1. T. T. Packard
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  2. Q. Dortch
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Communicated by J.S. Pearse, Santa Cruz

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Packard, T.T., Dortch, Q. Particulate protein-nitrogen in North Atlantic surface waters. Marine Biology 33, 347–354 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390573

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