A simple nutrient-dependence mechanism for predicting the stoichiometry of marine ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: It is widely recognized that the stoichiometry of nutrient elements in phytoplankton varies within the ocean. However, there are many conflicting mechanistic explanations for this variability, and it is often ignored in global biogeochemical models and carbon cycle simulations. Here we show that globally distributed particulate P:C varies as a linear function of ambient phosphate concentrations, whereas the N:C varies with ambient nitrate concentrations, but only when nitrate is most scarce. This observation is consistent with the adjustment of the phytoplankton community to local nutrient availability, with greater flexibility of phytoplankton P:C because P is a less abundant cellular component than N. This simple relationship is shown to predict the large-scale, long-term average composi

SUBMITTER: Galbraith ED 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4500256 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature