Axenic cultures of 25 species of unicellular marine algae were tested for their ability to utilize nine common amino acids, supplied at high concentrations in batch culture, as a nitrogen source; most species were able to use several amino acids, although growth was often slower than on nitrate nitrogen. The...
Seasonal and diel changes in nutrient concentrations and nitrogen assimilation rates were used to assess the effects of NH4+ on NO3- assimilation. Surface-water NO3- concentrations ranged from 6 to 17 μM while NH4+ concentrations ranged from 0 to 0.4 μM. Total N assimilation ranged from 84 to 732 nM d–1...
Using 15N-labeled NH4+, we assessed the time-course of NH4+ uptake, the parameters of saturation kinetics, and the rates of incorporation of NH4+ into trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material by Chesapeake Bay phytoplankton. The amount of NH4+ taken up by the phytoplankton increased linearly with time for 2 h for all samples growing...
Ammonium uptake and regeneration rates were measured in time course experiments with 15N as a tracer. Both ammonium uptake and regeneration rates measured over 12 to 18 h remained essentially constant. However, as the length of the incubations increased the amount of usable data decreased dramatically due to substrate depletion...
The stable isotopic signature of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ¹³CDIC) in the northeast Pacific Ocean is lower in near-surface waters by 1.1‰ relative to values predicted from global oceanic trends of δ¹³CDIC versus nutrients. A combination of anthropogenic carbon uptake from the atmosphere and thermodynamic, air-sea gas exchange processes in different...
The relationship between nitrogen (N) availability and the growth of macroalgae in a seasonal upwelling region (Yaquina Head, Oregon, USA) was investigated. Water column nutrient concentrations were relatively high and stable during the winter, decreased in early spring, and were highly variable in the summer and early fall. Periods of...
Insight into the dependence of benthic communities on biological and physical processes in nearshore pelagic environments, long considered a ``black box,'' has eluded ecologists. In rocky intertidal communities at Oregon coastal sites 80 km apart, differences in abundance of sessile invertebrates, herbivores, carnivores, and macrophytes in the low zone were...
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that NH4+ uptake by heterotrophic bacteria in the subarctic Pacific is C limited. Addition of glucose (0.5–1.0 μM) stimulated NH4+ uptake in unfractionated water but had no effect on bacterial abundance. Glucose stimulation of NH4+ uptake was even greater in...
Chlorophyll a concentrations were measured as a function of depth from 28 to 48°N along 152°W in March 1991 with Whatman GF/F and 0.2‐µm Nuclepore filters. Surface Chl a concentrations measured with 0.2‐µm Nuclepore filters were up to fourfold higher than those measured with Whatman GF/F filters. The largest difference...
Observed changes in the nutrient levels in the halocline of the California Current during 2002 indicated a natural eutrophication that was accompanied by increased chlorophyll and oxygen in surface water. Decreased oxygen in the lower water column over the shelf indicated that much of the phytoplankton production was respired rather...