Multiple environmental controls on phytoplankton growth strategies determine adaptive responses of the N : P ratio

Daines, SJ, Clark, JR and Lenton, TM 2014 Multiple environmental controls on phytoplankton growth strategies determine adaptive responses of the N : P ratio. Ecology Letters, 17 (4). 414-425. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12239

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Abstract/Summary

The controls on the 'Redfield' N:P stoichiometry of marine phytoplankton and hence the N:P ratio of the deep ocean remain incompletely understood. Here, we use a model for phytoplankton ecophysiology and growth, based on functional traits and resource-allocation trade-offs, to show how environmental filtering, biotic interactions, and element cycling in a global ecosystem model determine phytoplankton biogeography, growth strategies and macromolecular composition. Emergent growth strategies capture major observed patterns in marine biomes. Using a new synthesis of experimental RNA and protein measurements to constrain per-ribosome translation rates, we determine a spatially variable lower limit on adaptive rRNA:protein allocation and hence on the relationship between the largest cellular P and N pools. Comparison with the lowest observed phytoplankton N:P ratios and N:P export fluxes in the Southern Ocean suggests that additional contributions from phospholipid and phosphorus storage compounds play a fundamental role in determining the marine biogeochemical cycling of these elements.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	NUTRIENT LIMITATION; ELEMENTAL STOICHIOMETRY; MARINE-PHYTOPLANKTON; RESOURCE-ALLOCATION; UNICELLULAR ALGAE; CELL-SIZE; PHOSPHORUS; NITROGEN; MODEL; OCEAN
Subjects:	Ecology and Environment Marine Sciences
Divisions:	Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Marine System Modelling
Depositing User:	Mrs Julia Crocker
Date made live:	02 Oct 2014 15:32
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2023 12:33
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/6207

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