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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Sam Wilson
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Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) are keystone species that reduce atmospheric dinitrogen (N2) gas to fixed nitrogen (N), thereby accounting for much of N-based new production annually in the oligotrophic North Pacific. However, current approaches to study N2 fixation provide relatively limited spatiotemporal sampling resolution; hence, little is known about the ecological controls on these microorganisms or the scales over which they change. In the present study, we used a drifting robotic gene sensor to obtain high-resolution data on the distributions and abundances of N 2-fixing populations over small spatiotemporal scales. The resulting measurements demonstrate that concentrations of N2 fixers can be highly variable, changing in abundance by nearly three orders of magnitude in less than 2 days and 30 km. Concurrent shipboard measurements and long-term time-series sampling uncovered a striking and previously unrecognized correlation between phosphate, which is undergoing long-term change in the region, and N2-fixing cyanobacterial abundances. These results underscore the value of high-resolution sampling and its applications for modeling the effects of global change. © 2014 International Society for Microbial Ecology. All rights reserved.
Author(s): Robidart JC, Church MJ, Ryan JP, Ascani F, Wilson ST, Bombar D, Marin III R, Richards KJ, Karl DM, Scholin CA, Zehr JP
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: ISME Journal
Year: 2014
Volume: 8
Issue: 6
Pages: 1175-1185
Online publication date: 30/01/2014
Acceptance date: 02/12/2013
ISSN (print): 1751-7362
ISSN (electronic): 1751-7370
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.244
DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2013.244
PubMed id: 24477197
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