N-limited or N and P co-limited indications in the surface waters of three Mediterranean basins

Abstract

The limiting nutrient for the pelagic microbial food web in the Mediterranean Sea was investigated in the nutrient manipulated microcosms during summer 2008. Surface waters were collected into 12 carboys at a center of anticyclonic eddy at the Western Basin, the Ionian Basin, and the Levantine Basin, respectively. As compared to the Redfield ratio, the ratio of N to P in the collected waters was always smaller in the dissolved inorganic fraction but higher in both dissolved and particulate organic fractions. Four different treatments in triplicates (addition of ammonium, phosphate, a combination of both, and the unamended control) were set up for the carboys. Responses of chemical and biological parameters in these different treatments were measured during the incubation (3–4 days). Temporal changes of turnover time of phosphate and ATP, and alkaline phosphatase activity during the incubation suggested that the phytoplankton and heterotrophic prokaryotes (Hprok) communities were not purely P-limited at any studied stations. Statistical comparison between the treatments for a given parameter measured at the end of the incubation did not find pure P-limitation in any chemical and biological parameters at three study sites. Primary production was consistently limited by N, and Hprok growth was not limited by N nor P in the Western Basin, but N-limited in the Ionian Basin, and N and P co-limited in the Levantine Basin. Our results demonstrated the gap between biogeochemical features and biological responses in terms of the limiting nutrient. We question the general notion that Mediterranean surface waters are limited by P alone during the stratified period.