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Evidence of nitrification associated with globally distributed pelagic jellyfish

Evidence of nitrification associated with globally distributed pelagic jellyfish
Evidence of nitrification associated with globally distributed pelagic jellyfish
Bioavailable nitrogen is a scarce resource in most of the surface ocean
and often limits primary productivity. Although Pelagic jellyfish excrete
substantial amounts of ammonia (the preferred form of nitrogen for
most phytoplankton), they are overlooked players in marine nitrogen
cycling. Here, we observed high rates of nitrification (NH4+ → NO3-, 5.7
– 40.8 nM gWW-1 (wet weight) h-1) associated with the scyphomedusae
Aurelia aurita, Chrysaora hysoscella and Chrysaora pacifica and low rates
of incomplete nitrification (NH4+ → NO2-, 1-2.7 nM gWW-1 h-1)
associated with Chrysaora fulgida, Chrysaora hysoscella and Chrysaora
pacifica. These observations indicate that microbes living in association
with the jellyfish thrive by oxidizing the readily available ammonia to
nitrite and nitrate. The four studied species are abundant over a large
geographic distribution and exhibit frequent population outbreaks. We
show that, during such outbreaks, jellyfish-associated release of nitrogen
can provide more than 100% of the nitrogen required for primary
production. These findings reveal a so far overlooked pathway when
assessing pelagic nitrification rates that might be of particular relevance
in nitrogen depleted surface waters and at high jellyfish population
densities.
0024-3590
2159-2173
Hubot, Nathan Damien
9582a5e3-d738-4506-9047-a1eb3b0f44e6
Giering, Sarah L.C.
fa349d1b-7c28-482b-b379-824e2688bbb4
Füssel, Jessika
6abc0a9f-01d7-4ec4-ab88-d12c58442087
Robidart, Julie
a9b8d49c-c1e3-4a3b-a53c-685a0f2c7f93
Birchill, A.J.
d369bd78-52d0-4770-ab67-37137bc3da2b
Stinchcombe, Mark C.
433dd398-15f7-4730-9f1e-992d65bec70b
Dumousseaud, Cynthia
31cc4879-0d45-4674-8eba-93105ee25c2e
Lucas, Catherine
521743e3-b250-4c6b-b084-780af697d6bf
Hubot, Nathan Damien
9582a5e3-d738-4506-9047-a1eb3b0f44e6
Giering, Sarah L.C.
fa349d1b-7c28-482b-b379-824e2688bbb4
Füssel, Jessika
6abc0a9f-01d7-4ec4-ab88-d12c58442087
Robidart, Julie
a9b8d49c-c1e3-4a3b-a53c-685a0f2c7f93
Birchill, A.J.
d369bd78-52d0-4770-ab67-37137bc3da2b
Stinchcombe, Mark C.
433dd398-15f7-4730-9f1e-992d65bec70b
Dumousseaud, Cynthia
31cc4879-0d45-4674-8eba-93105ee25c2e
Lucas, Catherine
521743e3-b250-4c6b-b084-780af697d6bf

Hubot, Nathan Damien, Giering, Sarah L.C., Füssel, Jessika, Robidart, Julie, Birchill, A.J., Stinchcombe, Mark C., Dumousseaud, Cynthia and Lucas, Catherine (2021) Evidence of nitrification associated with globally distributed pelagic jellyfish. Limnology and Oceanography, 66 (6), 2159-2173. (doi:10.1002/lno.11736).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Bioavailable nitrogen is a scarce resource in most of the surface ocean
and often limits primary productivity. Although Pelagic jellyfish excrete
substantial amounts of ammonia (the preferred form of nitrogen for
most phytoplankton), they are overlooked players in marine nitrogen
cycling. Here, we observed high rates of nitrification (NH4+ → NO3-, 5.7
– 40.8 nM gWW-1 (wet weight) h-1) associated with the scyphomedusae
Aurelia aurita, Chrysaora hysoscella and Chrysaora pacifica and low rates
of incomplete nitrification (NH4+ → NO2-, 1-2.7 nM gWW-1 h-1)
associated with Chrysaora fulgida, Chrysaora hysoscella and Chrysaora
pacifica. These observations indicate that microbes living in association
with the jellyfish thrive by oxidizing the readily available ammonia to
nitrite and nitrate. The four studied species are abundant over a large
geographic distribution and exhibit frequent population outbreaks. We
show that, during such outbreaks, jellyfish-associated release of nitrogen
can provide more than 100% of the nitrogen required for primary
production. These findings reveal a so far overlooked pathway when
assessing pelagic nitrification rates that might be of particular relevance
in nitrogen depleted surface waters and at high jellyfish population
densities.

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Hubot et al. L&O accepted - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 26 January 2021
Published date: 15 June 2021

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 446897
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/446897
ISSN: 0024-3590
PURE UUID: caff46e6-7179-4fc3-876a-63b067b09f88
ORCID for Nathan Damien Hubot: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6917-2255
ORCID for Cynthia Dumousseaud: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5995-902X
ORCID for Catherine Lucas: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5929-7481

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Date deposited: 25 Feb 2021 17:45
Last modified: 25 Jun 2024 01:42

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Contributors

Author: Sarah L.C. Giering
Author: Jessika Füssel
Author: Julie Robidart
Author: A.J. Birchill
Author: Mark C. Stinchcombe
Author: Catherine Lucas ORCID iD

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