Dynamics of particulate organic matter d15N and d13C during spring phytoplankton blooms in a macrotidal ecosystem (Bay of Seine, France) - Archive ouverte HAL Access content directly
Journal Articles Marine Ecology Progress Series Year : 2003

Dynamics of particulate organic matter d15N and d13C during spring phytoplankton blooms in a macrotidal ecosystem (Bay of Seine, France)

Abstract

Two cruises (April and June 1997) were carried out in the Bay of Seine, a nitrate- and ammonium-enriched ecosystem of Western Europe, to identify the major mechanisms that control δ15N and δ13C in spring particulate organic matter (POM). Particulate organic nitrogen (PON) δ15N ranged between 0.8 and 5.2‰ in April and between 2.2 and 6.2‰ in June, while particulate organic carbon (POC) δ13C ranged between -24.3 and -19.7‰, and between -20.0 and -16.2‰ during the same periods. During spring 1997, POM was highly dominated by autochthonous phytoplankton. It is shown that the variation of PON δ15N is due to both nitrate mixing between river and marine waters and fractionation of N stable isotopes during nitrate utilization by phytoplankton. Therefore, similarly to what was previously shown for open ocean, δ15N can be used as a proxy of spring fractional nitrate utilization in coastal ecosystems. It is also shown that POC δ13C in spring is controlled by POC concentration and C:N ratio (in addition to Œtemperature effects¹), which are considered here as indicators of primary production and phytoplankton degradation, respectively. The co-variation of δ13C and δ15N describes the spring phytoplankton dynamics: at the start of phytoplankton development, nitrate concentration is high (low δ15N) and phytoplankton production is low (low δ13C); then primary production increases (δ13C becomes higher) and the nitrate pool diminishes (δ15N becomes higher); at a later stage, the nitrate pool is depleted (high δ15N), part of the phytoplankton becomes degraded and production is still high (high δ13C).
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Dates and versions

hal-02504341 , version 1 (07-05-2021)

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N. Savoye, A. Aminot, Paul Tréguer, M. Fontugne, N. Naulet, et al.. Dynamics of particulate organic matter d15N and d13C during spring phytoplankton blooms in a macrotidal ecosystem (Bay of Seine, France). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2003, 255, pp.27-41. ⟨10.3354/meps255027⟩. ⟨hal-02504341⟩
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