Effect of trace metal-limited growth on the postmortem dissolution of the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima

Abstract

We investigated the effects of iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) limitations on biogenic silica (bSiO2) dissolution kinetics of the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima during a 3 week batch dissolution experiment. The dissolution of this species was faster during the first week than thereafter. Modeling results from four dissolution models and scanning electron microcopy images suggested the successive dissolution of two phases of bSiO2, with two different dissolution constants. Micronutrient limitation during growth affected the respective proportion of the two phases and their dissolution constants. After 3 weeks of dissolution, frustules from micronutrient-limited diatoms were better preserved than those of replete cells. Our results also confirm that micronutrient-limited cells may export more Si relative to N than replete cells and may increase the silicate pump: This may not only be due to a higher degree of silicification of the live cells but also to a decoupling between the recycling of Si and N during dissolution. We suggest that a mechanistic understanding of the evolution of the dissolution constant during dissolution is needed. This would improve the parameterization of dissolution in ecosystem models, and ultimately their predictions on the amount of bSiO2 that dissolves in the photic zone, and the amount of bSiO2 that is exported to the seafloor.