Abstract
The perception that the euphotic zone of nutrient-impoverished oceanic waters is a steady state system has been based, to a large extent, on the choice of temporal and spatial scales upon which the pertinent biological and chemical measurements typically are made. For example, subsamples obtained from well-mixed, large volume samples (liters to tens of liters) commonly are used at sea both for a variety of analytical measurements and for long-term (tens of hours) bottle incubations to determine rates of primary production and nutrient turnover. The results of such measurements consistently demonstrate that nutrient concentrations in oligotrophic surface waters are below detection limits (Carpenter and McCarthy, 1975; McCarthy and Carpenter, 1979), and that both standing stocks of primary and secondary producers and rates of biological activity are uniformly low (Eppley et al., 1973).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alldredge, A.L., and Cox, J.L., 1982, Primary productivity and chemical composition of marine snow in surface waters of the Southern California Bight, J. Mar. Res., 40: 517.
Alldredge, A.L., and Silver, M.W., 1982, Abundance and production rates of floating diatom mats (Rhizosolenia castracanei and R. imbricata var. shrubsolei) in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Mar. Biol. 66: 83.
Allen, T.F.H., 1977, Scale in microscopic algal ecology: a neglected dimension, Phycologia, 16:253.
Azam, F., In press, Measurement of growth of bacteria in the sea and the regulation of growth by environmental conditions, in: “Heterotrophic Activity in the Sea,” J. Hobbie and P. J. LeB. Williams, eds., Plenum Press, New York.
Azam, F., and Hodson, R.E., 1977, Size distribution and activity of marine microheterotrophs, Limnol. Oceanogr., 22: 492.
Barsdate, B.J., Prentki, R.T., and Fenchel, T., 1974, Phosphorus cycle of model ecosystems: significance for decomposer food chains and effect of bacterial grazers, Oikos, 25: 239.
Baylor, E.R., Sutcliffe, W.H., and Hirschfield, D.S., 1962, Adsorption of phosphate onto bubbles, Deep Sea Res., 9:120.
Beers, J.R., Reid, F.M.H., and Stewart, G.L., 1982, Seasonal abundance of the microplankton population in the North Pacific central gyre, Deep Sea. Res., 29:227.
Berman, T., 1975, Size fractionation of natural aquatic populations associated with autotrophic and heterotrophic carbon uptake, Mar. Biol., 33:215.
Bishop, J.K.B., Ketten, D.R. and Edmond, J.M., 1978, The chemistry biology and vertical flux of particulate matter from the upper 400 m of the Cape Basin in the southeast Atlantic ocean, Deep Sea Res., 25:1121.
Bishop, J.K.B., Collier, R.W., Ketten, D.R., and Edmond, J.M., 1980, The chemistriy, biology and vertical flux of particulate matter from the upper 1500 m of the Panama Basin, Deep Sea Res., 27:615.
Booth, B.C., Lewin, J. and Norris, R.E., 1982, Nanoplankton species predominant in the subartic Pacific in May and June 1978, Deep Sea Res., 29:185.
Brand, L.E., and Guillard, R.R.L., 1981, The effects of continuous light and light intensity on the reproduction rates of twenty-two species of marine phytoplankton, J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol., 50:119.
Caperon, J., Schell, D., Hirota, T., and Laws, E., 1979, Ammonium excretion rates in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, measured by a 15N isotope dilution technique, Mar. Biol., 54: 33.
Carder, K.L., 1979, Holographic microvelocimeter for use in studying ocean particle dynamics Opt. Eng., 18: 524.
Carder, K.L., Steward, R.G., and Betzer, P.R., 1982, In situ holographic measurements of the sizes and settling rates of oceanic particulates, J. Geophys. Res., 87:5681.
Caron, D.A., Davis, P.G., Madin, L.P., and Dieburth, J. McN., 1982 Heterotrophic bacteria and bacterivorous protozoa in oceanic macroaggregates, Science.
Carpenter, E.J., and McCarthy, J.J., 1975, Nitrogen fixation and uptake of combined nitrogenous nutrients by Oscillatoria (Trichodesmium) thiebautii in the western Sargasso Sea, Limnol. Oceanogr., 20: 389.
Carpenter, E.J., and Price, C.C., 1977, Nitrogen fixation, distribution, and production of Oscillatoria (Trichodesmium) spp. in the western Sargasso and Caribbean Seas, Limnol. Oceanogr., 22: 389.
Carpenter, E.J., Harbison, G.R., Madin, L.P., Swanberg, N.R., Biggs, D.C., Hulbert, E.M., McAlister, V.L., and McCarthy, J.J., 1977, Rhizosolenia mats, Limno1. Oceaogr., 22: 739.
Cauwet, G., 1978, Organic chemistry of sea water particulates. Concepts and developments, Oceanologica Acta, 1: 99.
Churchward, G., Bremer, H. and Young, R., 1982, Macromolecular composition of bacteria, J. Theor. Biol., 94: 651.
Cooper, L.H.N., 1933, Chemical constituents of biological importance in the English Channel, Pt. I. Phosphate, silicate, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K., 23: 171.
Curds, C.R., 1971, A computer-simulation study of predator-prey relationships in a single-stage continuous-culture system, Water Res., 5: 793.
Dawson, M.P., Humphrey, B.A., and Marshallm K.C., 1981, Adhesion: A tactic in the survival strategy of a marine vibrio during starvation, Current Microbiol., 6: 195–199.
Ellwood, D.C., Keevil, C.W., Marsh, P.D., Brown, C.M., and Wardell, J.N., 1982, Surface-associated growth, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B297: 517.
Eppley, R.W., 1972, Temperature and phytoplankton growth in the sea, Fish. Bull., 70:1063.
Eppley, R.W., and Peterson, B.J., 1979, Particulate organic matter flux and planktonic new production in the deep ocean, Nature, 282: 677.
Eppley, R.W., Renger, E.H., Venrick, E.L., and Mullin, M.M., 1973, A study of plankton dynamics and nutrient cycling in the central gyre of the North Pacific Ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 18: 534.
Esener, A.A., Roels, J.A., and Kossen, N.W.F., 1982, Dependence of the elemental composition of K. pneumoniae on the steady-state specific growth rate, Biotechnol. Bioeng., 24: 1445.
Fenchel, T., 1982a, Ecology of Heterotrophic microflagellates. I. Some important forms and their functional morphology, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 8:211.
Fenchel, T., 1982b, Ecology of heterotrophic microflagellates. II. Bioenergetics and growth, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 8: 225.
Fenchel, T., and Harrison P., 1976, The significance of bacterial grazing and mineral cycling for the decomposition of particulate detritus, in: “The Role of Terrestrial and Aquatic Organisms in Decomposition Processes,” J.M. Anderson and A. Macfadyen, eds., Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Gallager, S.M., and Mann, R., 1981, The effect of varying carbon/ nitrogen ratio in the phytoplankter Thalassiosira pseudonana (3H) on its food value to the bivalve Tapes Japonica, Aquaculture, 26: 95.
Gavis, J., 1976, Munk and Riley revisited: nutrient diffusion transport and rates of phytoplankton growth, J. Mar. Res., 34: 161.
Glibert, P.M., 1982, Regional studies of daily, seasonal, and size fraction variability in ammonium remineralization, Mar. Biol., 70: 209.
Glibert, P.M. and Goldman, J.C., 1981, Rapid ammonium uptake by marine phytoplankton, Mar. Biol. Lett., 2: 25.
Goldman, J.C., 1980, Physical processes, nutrient availability, and the concept of relative growth rate in marine phytoplankton ecology, in: “Primary Productivity in the Sea,” P.G. Falkowski, ed. Plenum Press, New York.
Goldman, J.C., and Glibert, P.M., 1982, Comparative rapid ammonium uptake by four species of marine phytoplankton, Limnol. Oceanogr., 27: 814.
Goldman, J.C., and Stanley, H.I., 1974, Relative growth of different species of marine algae in wastewater-seawater mixtures, Mar. Biol., 28: 17.
Goldman J.C., and McCarthy, J.J., 1978, Steady state growth and ammonium uptake of a fast-growing marine diatom, Limnol. Oceanogr., 23: 695.
Goldman, J.C., McCarthy, J.J., and Peavey, D.G., 1979, Growth rate influence on the chemical composition of phytoplankton in oceanic waters, Nature, 279:210.
Goldman, J.C., Taylor, C.D., and Glibert, P.G., 1981a, Nonlinear time-course uptake of carbon and ammonium by marine phytoplankton, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 6: 137.
Goldman, J.C., Dennett, M.R., and Riley, C.B., 1981b, Inorganic carbon sources and biomass regulation in intensive microalgal cultures, Biotechnol. Bioeng., 23: 995.
Gordon, D.R. Jr., 1970, A microscopic study of organic particles in the North Atlantic Ocean, Deep Sea Res., 17:175.
Gordon, D.C. Jr., Wangersky, P.J., and Sheldon, R.W., 1979, Detailed observations on the distribution and composition of particulate organic material at two stations in the Sargasso Sea, Deep Sea Res., 26: 1083.
Haas, L.W., and Webb, K.L., 1979, Nutritional mode of several non- pigmented microflagellates from the York River Estuary, Virginia, J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol., 39: 125.
Harris, G.P., 1980, Temporal and spatial scales in phytoplankton ecology. Mechanisms, methods, models, and management, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 37: 877.
Harris, R.H., and Mitchell, R., 1973, The role of polymers in microbial aggregations, Ann. Rev. Microbiol., 27: 27.
Harrison, W.G., 1978, Experimental measurements of nitrogen re-mineralization in coastal waters, Limnol. Oceanogr., 23: 684.
Harrison, W.G., 1980, Nutrient regeneration and primary production in the sea, in: “Primary Productivity in the Sea,” P.G. Falkowski, ed., Plenum Press, New York.
Harvey, G.W., 1966, Microlayer collection from the sea surface: a new method and initial results, Limno1. Oceanogr., 11: 608.
Herbert, D., Elsworth, R., and Telling, R.C., 1956, The continuous culture of bacteria; a theoretical and experimental study, J. Gen. Microbiol., 14: 601.
Herbland, A., and LeBouteiller, A., 1981, The size distribution of phytoplankton and particulate organic matter in the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean: Importance of ultraseston and consequences, J. Plankton Res., 3: 659.
Jackson, G.A., 1980, Phytoplankton growth and Zooplankton grazing in oligotrophic waters, Nature, 284: 439.
Jannasch, H.W., 1979, Microbial ecology of aquatic low nutrient habitats, in: “Strategies of Microbial Life in Extreme Environments”, M. Shilo, ed., Dahlem Konferenzen, Berlin.
Jannasch, H.W., and Pritchard, P.H., 1972, The role of inert particulate matter in the activity of aquatic microorganisms, Mem Ist Ital. Idrobiol. Suppl., 29: 289.
Johannes, R.E., 1965, The influence of marine protozoa on nutrient regeneration, Limnol. Oceanogr., 10: 434.
Johnson, B.D., 1976, Nonliving organic particle formation from bubble dissolution, Limnol. Oceanogr., 21: 444.
Johnson, B.D., and Cooke, R.C., 1980, Organic particle and aggregate formation resulting from the dissolution of bubbles in sea-water, Limnol. Oceanogr., 25: 653.
Johnson, P.W., and Sieburth, J. McN., 1979, Chroococcoid cyano-bacteria in the sea: A ubiquitous and diverse phototrophic biomass, Limnol. Oceanogr., 24: 928.
Kelley, J.C., 1976, Sampling the sea, in: “The Ecology of the Seas,” D.H. Cushing and J.J. Walsh, eds., W.B. Saunders Co, Philadelphia.
Ketchum, B.H., Ryther, J.H., Yentsch, C.S., and Corwin, N., 1958, Productivity in relation to nutrients, Cons. Internat. Explor. Mer. Rapp. and Proces. Verb., 144: 132.
Kjelleberg, S., Humphrey, B.A., and Marshall, K.C., 1982, Effect of interfaces on small, starved marine bacteria, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 43: 1166.
Kimor, B. 1981, The role of phagotrophic dinoflagellates in marine ecosystems, Kieler Meeresforsch. Sondern., 5: 164.
Koch, A.L., 1971, The adaptive responses, of Escherichia coli to a feast or famine existence, Adv. Microbiol. Ecol., 6: 147.
Koch, A.L., 1979, Microbial growth in low concentrations of nutrients, in: “Strategies of Microbial Life in Extreme Environments,” M. Shilo, ed., Dahlem Konferenzen, Berlin.
Larsen, D.H., and Dimmick, R.L., 1964, Attachment and growth of bacteria on surfaces of continuous-culture vessels, J. Bacteriol. 88: 1380.
Laws, E.A., and Bannister, T.T., 1980, Nutrient- and light-limited growth of Thalassiosira fluviatilis in continuous culture, with implications for phytoplankton growth in the ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 25: 457.
Lehman, J.T., and Scavia, D., 1982a, Microscale patchiness of nutrients in plankton communities, Science, 216: 729.
Lehman, J.T., and Scavia, D., 1982b, Microscale nutrient patches produced by Zooplankton, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 79: 5001.
Linley, E.A.S., and Field, J.G., 1982, The nature and ecological significance of bacterial aggregation in a nearshore upwelling ecosystem, Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 14:1
Maestrini, S.Y., and Bonin, D.J., 1981, Competition among phytoplankton based on inorganic macronutrients, in: “Physiological Bases of Phytoplankton Ecology,” T. Platt, ed., Bulletin 210, Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Ottawa.
Marshall, K.C., 1976, “Interfaces in Microbial Ecology,” Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
McCarthy, J.J., and Carpenter, E.J., 1979, Oscillatoria (Trichodesmium) thiebautii (cyanophyta) in the central North Atlantic Ocean, J. Phycol., 15: 75.
McCarthy, J.J., and Goldman, J.C., 1979, Nitrogenous nutrition of marine phytoplankton in nutrient-depleted waters, Science, 203: 670.
Manzel, D.W., 1974, Primary productivity, dissolved and particulate organic matter, and the sites of oxidation of organic matter, in: “The Sea, Vol. 5, Marine Chemistry,” E.D. Goldberg, ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Morris, I., Smith, A.E., and Glover, H.E., 1981, Products of photosynthesis in phytoplankton off the Orinoco River and in the Caribbean Sea, Limnol. Oceanogr., 26: 1034.
Norkrans, B., 1980, Surface microlayers in aquatic environments, Adv. Microbial Ecol., 4: 51.
Paerl, H.W., 1975, Microbial attachment to particles in marine and freshwater ecosystems, Microb. Ecol., 2: 73.
Parker, R.R., and Tranter, D.J., 1981, Estimation of algal standing stock and growth parameters using in vivo fluorescence, Aust. J. Mar. Freshwater Res., 32:629.
Platt, T., and Denman, K., 1980, Patchiness in phytoplankton distribution, in: “The Physiological Ecology of Phytoplankton,” I Morris, ed., Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Poindexter, J.S., 1981, Oligotrophy. Fast and famine existence, Adv. Microbial Ecol., 5: 63.
Pomeroy, L.R., 1974, The ocean’s food web, a changing paradigm, BioScience, 24: 499.
Pomeroy, L.R. and Johannes, R.E., 1966, Total plankton respiration, Deep Sea Res., 13: 971.
Pomeroy, L.R. and Johannes, R.E., 1968, Occurance and respiration of ultraplankton in the upper 500 meters of the ocean, Deep Sea Res., 15: 381.
Raymont, J.E.G., and Adams, M.N.E., 1958, Studies on the mass ulture of Phaeodactylum, Limnol. Oceanogr., 3: 119.
Redfield, A.C., Smith H.P., and Ketchum, B., 1937, The cycle of organic phosphorus in the Gulf of Maine, Biol. Bull., 73: 421.
Rifkin, R.B., and Swift, E., 1982, Phosphate uptake by the oceanic dinoflagellate Pyrocystis noctiluca, J. Phycol., 18: 113.
Riley, G.A., 1963, Organic aggregates in seawater and the dynamics of their formation and utilization, Limnol. Oceanogr. 8: 372.
Riley, G.A., 1970, Particulate organic matter in sea water, Adv. mar. Biol., 8: 1.
Rutter, P.R., 1980, The physical chemistry of the adhesion of bacteria and other cells, in: “Cell Adhesion and Motility,” A.S.G. Curtis and J.D. Pitts, eds, Cambridge University Press, London.
Seki, H., 1972, The role of microorganisms in the marine food chain with reference to organic aggregate, Mem. 1st. Ital. Idrobiol. Suppl., 29: 245.
Shanks, A.L., and Trent, J.D., 1979, Marine snow: Microscale nutrient patchiness, Limnol. Oceanogr., 24:850
Sharp, J.H., Perry, M.J., Renger, E.H., and Eppley, R.W., 1980, Phytoplankton rate processes in the oligotrophic waters of the central North Pacific Ocean, J. Plankton Res., 2: 335.
Sheldon, R.W., Prakash, A., and Sutcliffe, W.H. Jr., 1972, The size distribution of particles in the ocean, Limnol. Oceanogr., 17: 327.
Sherr, B.F., Sherr, E.B., and Berman, T., 1982, Decomposition of organic detritus: A selective role for microflagellate protozoa, Limnol. Oceanogr., 27: 765.
Sieburth, J. McN., 1979, “Sea Microbes,” Oxford University Press, New York.
Sieburth, J.McN. Smetacek, V., and Lenz, J., 1978, Pelagic ecosystem structure: Heterotrophic compartments of the plankton and their relationship to plankton size fractions, Limnol. Oceanogr., 23: 1256.
Silver, M.W., and Alldredge, A.L., 1981, Bathypelagic marine snow: deep-sea algal and detrital community, J. Mar. Res., 39: 501.
Silver, M.W., Shanks, A.L., and Trent, J.D., 1978, Marine snow: Microplankton habitat and source of small-scale patchiness in pelagic populations, Science, 201: 371.
Sorokin, Y.I., 1981, Microheterotrophic organisms in marine ecosystems, in: “Analysis of Marine Ecosystems,” A.R. Longhurst, ed., Academic Press, London.
Spicer, C.C., 1955, The theory of bacterial constant growth apparatus, Biometrics, 11: 225.
Sutcliffe, W.H., Baylor, E.R., and Menzel, D.W., 1963, Sea surface chemistry and Langmuir circulation, Deep Sea Res., 10: 233.
Swift, E., Stuart, M., and Meunier, V., 1976, The in situ growth rates of some deep-living oceanic dinoflagellates: Pyrocystis fusiformis and Pyrocystis noctiluca, Limnol. Oceanogr., 21: 418.
Throndsen, J., 1979, The significance of ultraplankton in marine primary production, Acta Bot. Fennica, 110: 53.
Topiwala, H.H., and Hamer, G., 1971, Effect of wall growth in steady-state continuous cultures, Biotechnol. Bioeng., 13: 919.
Trent, J.D., Shanks, A.L. and Silver, M.W., 1978, In situ and laboratory measurements on macroscopic aggregates in Monterey Bay, California, Limnol. Oceanogr., 23: 626.
Turpin, D.H., Parslow, J.S., and Harrison, P.J., 1981, On limiting nutrient patchiness and phytoplankton growth: A conceptual approach, J. Plankton Res., 3: 421.
van den Ende, P., 1973, Predator-prey interactions in continuous culture, Science, 181: 562.
Wangersky, P.J., 1977, The role of particulate matter in the productivity of surface waters, Helgolander wiss. Meeresunters, 30: 546.
Wangersky, P.J., 1978, The distribution of particulate organic matter in the oceans: ecological implications, Int. Revue ges. Hydrobiol., 63: 567.
Waterbury, J.B., Watson, S.W., Guillard, R.R.L., and Brand, L.E., 1979, Widespread occurance of a unicellular, marine, planktonic, cyanobacterium, Nature, 277: 293.
Wheeler, P.A., Glibert, P.G., and McCarthy, J.J., 1982, Ammonium uptake and incorporation by Chespeake Bay phytoplankton: Short-term uptake kinetics, Limnol. Oceanogr., 27: 1113.
Wiebe, W.J., and Pomeroy, L.R., 1972, Microorganisms and their association with aggregates and detritus in the sea: a microscopic study, Mem. Ist. Ital. Idrobiol. Suppl., 29: 325.
Williams, P.J., LeB., 1981, Incorporation of microheterotrophic processes into the classical paradigm of the planktonic food web, Kieler Meeresforsch., Sondeh., 5:1.
Williams, P.J. LeB. and Muir, L.R., 1981, Diffusion as a constraint on the biological importance of microzones in the sea, in: “Ecohydrodynamics”, J.C.J. Nihoul, ed. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1984 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Goldman, J.C. (1984). Oceanic Nutrient Cycles. In: Fasham, M.J.R. (eds) Flows of Energy and Materials in Marine Ecosystems. NATO Conference Series, vol 13. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0387-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0387-0_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-0389-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-0387-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive