Fe-Stimulated Changes in Phytoplankton Biomarker Distributions and Carbon Isotopic Compositions During SOFeX R. Bidigare, S. Christensen, S. Brown, K. Selph, C. Sheridan, N. Cassar & M. Landry Department of Oceanography University of Hawai‘i
Research Objectives Investigate phytoplankton community responses to four sequential iron enrichments (0.7 nM each) at 66°S, 172°W (“Southern Patch”) Monitor pigment biomarker distributions and 13 C ratios in the “Southern Patch” and at outside stations to infer Fe-stimulated changes in algal biomass, composition and growth physiology
HPLC TChl a Turner Chl HPLC TChl a (ng L -1 ) Turner Chloropigment (ng L -1 ) SOFeX Southern Patch (R/VMelville) We hypothesize that the variable positive bias observed in the Fl Chl measurements result from the accumulation of fluorescent zooplankton grazing products (Steryl Chlorin Esters???) TChl a = Chl a + Chlorophyllide a
Total Chlorophyll a (ng L -1 ) Depth (m) SOFeX Southern Patch d d d d d d 9.27 d 9.18 d 9.08 d 8.99 d 6.66 d 4.74 d Pre
Total Chlorophyll a (ng L -1 ) Time Since Initial Fe Addition (days) SOFeX Southern Patch (0-30 m) In Out Pre
Fucoxanthin (ng L -1 ) Time Since Initial Fe Addition (days) SOFeX Southern Patch (0-30 m) In Out Pre
Photoadaptation Index
Daily PAR (Ein m -2 ) Time Since Initial Fe Infusion (days) SOFeX Southern Patch
Ln (Biomass) Time Since Initial Fe Addition (days) y = 0.058x r 2 = 0.83 y = 0.095x r 2 = 0.84 SOFeX Southern Patch (0-30 m) C Chl Phytoplankton Net Growth Rate
Apparent Phytoplankton Net Growth Rates During SOFeX (Southern Patch)
13 C IN - 13 C OUT ( ‰) Time Since Initial Fe Infusion (days) SOFeX Southern Patch Bulk POC (mixed layer)
Summary Fe enrichment produced an 10-fold increase in [TChl a] in the SOFeX Southern Patch (0.2 2.0 mg/m 3 ) Only small changes in phytoplankton size structure were observed following Fe enrichment ( >20 m size fx) Variations in xanthophyll cycle pigment ratios indicate that light limitation may have restricted the magnitude of the phytoplankton response to Fe addition A differential response to Fe enrichment was observed for the Southern Patch phytoplankton community with diatoms > pelagophytes > dinoflagellates > haptophytes A ~1‰ enrichment in 13 C was measured in the POC pool in the Southern Patch relative to the outside stations
Future Directions Identify fluorescent grazing products 13 C biomarker analyses –Lipids (irmGC/MS) –Pigments (irmLC/MS) –SOFeX large-volume pump samples –Phytoplankton “soup” samples –AESOPS sediment core samples