Nitrogen and phosphorus uptake kinetics in cultures of two novel picoplankton groups responsible for a recent bloom event in a subtropical estuary (Indian River Lagoon, Florida)

IntroductionSuccessful management and mitigation of harmful algal blooms (HABs) requires an in-depth understanding of the physiology and nutrient utilization of the organisms responsible. We explored the preference of various nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) substrates by two novel groups of HAB-forming phytoplankton originating from the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida: 1) a consortium of picocyanobacteria (Crocosphaera sp. and ‘Synechococcus’ sp.) and 2) ananochlorophyte (Picochlorum sp.).MethodsShort-term kinetic uptake experiments tested algal use and affinity for inorganic and organic N substrates (ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3-), urea, and an amino acid (AA) mixture) through 15N and 13C isotope tracing into biomass.ResultsPicocyanobacteria exhibited Michaelis-Menten type uptake for the AA mixture only, while nanochlorophytes reached saturation for NH4+, the AA mixture, and urea at or below 25 µM-N. Both picocyanobacteria and nanochlorophyte cultures had highest affinity (Vmax/Ks) for NH4+ followed by the AA mixture and urea. Neither culture showed significant uptake of isotopically-labeled nitrate. Disappearance of glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) added to culture medium suggesting use of organic P by both cultures was confirmed by detection of alkaline phosphatase activity and the tracing of 13C-G6P into biomass.DiscussionTogether, our results suggest that these HAB-forming phytoplankton groups are able to use a variety of N and P sources including organic forms, and prefer reduced forms of N. These traits are likely favorable under conditions found in the IRL during periods of significant competition for low concentrations of inorganic nutrients. Bloom-forming phytoplankton are therefore able to subsist on organic or recycled forms of N and P that typically dominate the IRL nutrient pools

A multi-proxy trophic state reconstruction for shallow Orange Lake, Florida, USA: Possible influence of macrophytes on limnetic nutrient concentrations.

We retrieved four sediment cores from shallow, eutrophic, macrophyte-dominated Orange Lake (A = 51.4 km2, zmax \u3c5 m, zmean \u3c 2 m), north-central Florida, USA. The 210Pb-dated profiles were used to evaluate spatial and temporal patterns of bulk sediment and nutrient accumulation in the limnetic zone and to infer historical changes in lake trophic state. Bulk density, organic matter, total carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP) concentrations displayed stratigraphic similarities among three of four cores, as did accumulation rates of bulk sediment, organic matter and nutrients. Accumulation rates were slower at the fourth site. Nutrients showed generally increasing rates of accumulation since the turn of the century. Percentages of periphytic diatom taxa increased progressively in the cores after ~ 1930. Diatom-inferred limnetic total P trends were similar among profiles. Eutrophic conditions were inferred for the period prior to the turn of the century. The lake was hypereutrophic in the early decades of the 1900s, but inferred limnetic total P values declined after ~ 1930. Declining inferred limnetic total P trends for the last 60--70 years were accompanied by concomitant increases in accumulation rates of total P and NAIP on the lake bottom. Several lines of evidence suggest that after ~ 1930, phosphorus entering Orange Lake was increasingly utilized by submersed macrophytes. Paleolimnological records from Orange Lake highlight the importance of using multiple sediment variables to infer past trophic state and suggest that aquatic macrophytes can play a role in regulating water-column nutrient concentrations in shallow, warm-temperate lakes