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Trace Metal/Phytoplankton Interactions in the Sea

  • Chapter
Chemistry of Aquatic Systems: Local and Global Perspectives

Part of the book series: EUROCOURSES ((EUCE,volume 5))

Abstract

Recent evidence indicates that trace metal nutrients (most importantly iron, and to a lesser extent zinc and manganese) can profoundly influence the productivity, species diversity, and ecological interactions of marine phytoplankton communities. In this chapter, several aspects of marine trace metal/phytoplankton interactions are examined, including (1) the chemistry of bioactive metals in seawater, (2) the interaction of these metals with phytoplankton at the molecular, cellular, community, and ecosystem levels of biological organization, and (3) the mechanisms by which phytoplankton communities regulate the distributions, cycling, and chemical speciation of trace metals. In controlling the chemistry and cycling of metal nutrients, important feedback mechanisms are established, which can have global scale impacts on the physics, chemistry, and biology of the Earth.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beaufort Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    William G. Sunda

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  1. William G. Sunda
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Joint Research Centre, Environment Institute, Commission of the European Communities, Ispra, Italy

    Giovanni Bidoglio

  2. Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, EAWAG, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Werner Stumm

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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Sunda, W.G. (1994). Trace Metal/Phytoplankton Interactions in the Sea. In: Bidoglio, G., Stumm, W. (eds) Chemistry of Aquatic Systems: Local and Global Perspectives. EUROCOURSES, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1024-4_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1024-4_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4410-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-1024-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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