Abstract
Concentrations of fluorescamine-positive substances (primary amines) and turnover rates of L-leucine pools were measured concurrently in seawater samples taken from 1300 m3 plastic enclosures moored in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia, Canada. Concentration and turnover rates of dissolved free amino acids were calculated and then used to determine the instantaneous flux of dissolved free amino acids, which ranged from 0.09 to 2.42 μM d-1 (i.e.,5 to 145 μgC l-1 d-1). This flux was highest in the euphotic zone, and was related to net primary production but not to the type of dominant primary producer. Comparison of the flux to changes in the concentration of ammonia in deep water suggested that amino acid degradation accounted for 60% of the flux into the ammonia pool. For a given sample, the amino acid carbon flux ranged from 17 to 210% (mean=78%) of the primary production. Such fluxes of amino acid carbon, if used exclusively by the bacterioplankton, would give growth rates ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 (mean=1.7) bacterial doublings d-1. These calculations indicate that a large fraction of the community carbon and nitrogen flux passes through the bacterioplankton.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Armstrong, F. A. J., P. M. Williams and J. D. H. Strickland: Photo-oxidation of organic matter in sea water by ultraviolet radiation, analytical and other applications. Nature, Lond. 211, 481–483 (1966)
Azam, F. and O. Holm-Hansen: Use of tritiated substrates in the study of heterotrophy in seawater. Mar. Biol. 23, 191–196 (1973)
Crawford, C. C., J. E. Hobbie and K. L. Webb: The utilization of dissolved free amino acids by estuarine microorganisms. Ecology 55, 551–563 (1974)
Eppley, R. W., E. H. Renger, W. G. Harrison and J. J. Cullen: Ammonia distribution in southern California coastal waters and its role in the growth of phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 24, 495–509 (1979)
Eppley, R. W., E. H. Renger, E. L. Venrick and M. M. Mullin: A study of plankton dynamics and nutrient cycling in the central gyre of the North Pacific Ocean. Limnol. Oceanogr. 18, 534–551 (1973)
Ferguson, R. L. and P. Rublee: Contribution of bacteria to standing crop of coastal plankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 21, 141–145 (1976)
Gibbons, J. D.: Nonparametric methods for quantitative analysis, 463 pp. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston 1976
Hagström, A., U. Larsson, P. Horstedt and S. Normark: Frequency of dividing cells, a new approach to the determination of bacterial growth rates in aquatic environments. Appl. envirl Microbiol. 37, 805–812 (1979)
Harris, E.: The nitrogen cycle in Long Island Sound. Bull. Bingham oceanogr. Coll. 17, 31–65 (1959)
Harrison, w. G. and J. M. Davies: Nitrogen cycling in a marine planktonic food chain: nitrogen fluxes through the principal components and the effects of adding copper. Mar. Biol. 43, 299–306 (1977)
Harrison, W. G., R. W. Eppley and E. H. Renger: Phytoplankton nitrogen metabolism, nitrogen budgets and observations on copper toxicity: controlled ecosystem pollution experiment. Bull. mar. Sci. 27, 44–57 (1977)
Hobbie, J. E., C. C. Crawford and K. L. Webb: Amino acid flux in an estuary. Science, N. Y. 159, 1463–1464 (1968)
Hobbie, J. E., R. J. Daley and S. Jasper: A method for counting bacteria on Nuclepore filters. Appl. envirl Microbiol. 33, 1225–1228 (1977)
Hollibaugh, J. T.: Nitrogen regeneration during the degradation of several amino acids by plankton communities collected near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Mar. Biol. 45, 191–201 (1978)
Hollibaugh, J. T.: Amino acid fluxes in marine plankton communities contained in CEPEX bags. In: Fjord Oceanography, NATO Conference Series IV in Marine Sciences. Ed. by J. D. Farmer and H. J. Freeland. London: Plenum Publishing Corporation (In press)
Jawed, M.: Ammonia excretion by zooplankton and its sigmificance to primary productivity during summer. Mar. Biol. 23, 115–120 (1973)
McCarthy, J. J., W. R., Taylor and J. L. Taft: Nitrogenous nutrition of the plankton in Chesapeake Bay. I. Nutrient availability and phytoplankton preferences. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 996–1011 (1977)
Menzel, D. W. and J. Case: Concept and design: controlled ecosystem pollution experiment. Bull. mar. Sci. 27, 1–7 (1977)
North, B. B.: Primary amines in California coastal waters: utilization by phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20, 20–27 (1975)
Parsons, T. R. and M. Takahashi: Biological oceanographic processes, 186 pp Toronto: Pergamon Press 1973
Strickland, J. D. H. and T. R. Parsons: A practical handbook of seawater analysis, 2nd ed. Bull. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 167, 1–311 1972
Tanaka, N., M. Nakanishi and H. Kadota: Nutritional interrelation between bacteria and phytoplankton in a pelagic ecosystem. In: Effect of the ocean environment on microbial activities, pp 495–509. Ed. by R. R. Colwell and R. Y. Morita. Baltimore: University Park Press 1974
Tate, M. W. and R. C. Clelland: Nonparametric and shortcut statistics, 171 pp. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc. 1957
Thayer, G. W.: Identity and regulation of nutrients limiting phytoplankton production in the shallow estuaries near Beaufort, N. C. Oecologia (Berl.) 14, 75–92 (1974)
Thomas, W. H.: Effect of ammonium and nitrate concentration on chlorophyll increase in natural tropical Pacific phytoplankton populations. Limnol. Oceanogr. 15, 386–394 (1970)
Williams, P. M.: Stable carbon isotopes in the dissolved organic matter of the sea. Nature, Lond. 221, 152–153 (1968)
Wright, R. T.: Mineralization of organic solutes by heterotrophic bacteria. In: Effect of the ocean environment on microbial activities, pp 546–565. Ed. by R. R. Colwell and R. Y. Morita. Baltimore: University Park Press 1974
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by N. D. Holland, La Jolla
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hollibaugh, J.T., Carruthers, A.B., Fuhrman, J.A. et al. Cycling of organic nitrogen in marine plankton communities studied in enclosed water columns. Mar. Biol. 59, 15–21 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396978
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396978