An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions?
Abstract Polar freshwater ecosystems are sensitive to climate change, facing increasing temperatures and its consequences such as glacier retreat. Phosphorus and/or fixed nitrogen are widely expected to limit primary production in most freshwater environments, however the role of micronutrients is l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL110065 |
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| author | Kechen Zhu Jana Krause Camila Marín‐Arias Mireia Mestre Juan Höfer Thomas J. Browning Eric P. Achterberg Mark J. Hopwood |
| author_facet | Kechen Zhu Jana Krause Camila Marín‐Arias Mireia Mestre Juan Höfer Thomas J. Browning Eric P. Achterberg Mark J. Hopwood |
| author_sort | Kechen Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Polar freshwater ecosystems are sensitive to climate change, facing increasing temperatures and its consequences such as glacier retreat. Phosphorus and/or fixed nitrogen are widely expected to limit primary production in most freshwater environments, however the role of micronutrients is largely un‐characterized. We measured dissolved nitrate and nitrite, phosphate, cobalt, iron, manganese and zinc in a selection of Greenland and Antarctic lakes, and report the first evaluation of cobalt regulating phytoplankton growth in these systems using bioassay incubations. Results showed cobalt potentially co‐limited phytoplankton in three of the eight sites tested. A time‐series of dissolved cobalt measured in Kobbefjord (southwest Greenland) runoff corroborated low cobalt availability during summer. This was in contrast to manganese and iron which remained at high concentrations throughout summer. We hypothesize that high manganese:cobalt and/or zinc:cobalt ratios in runoff, may impede cellular cobalt acquisition, meaning cobalt co‐limitation of primary production is plausible in many polar freshwater environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a5943c8cdfb74aec8dc278ce550d65ec |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-a5943c8cdfb74aec8dc278ce550d65ec2025-08-20T02:33:52ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-12-015123n/an/a10.1029/2024GL110065An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions?Kechen Zhu0Jana Krause1Camila Marín‐Arias2Mireia Mestre3Juan Höfer4Thomas J. Browning5Eric P. Achterberg6Mark J. Hopwood7Department of Ocean Science and Engineering Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen ChinaGEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel Kiel GermanyPrograma de magíster en oceanografía Escuela de Ciencias del Mar Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso Valparaíso ChileCentro FONDAP de investigación en Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL) Valdivia ChileEscuela de Ciencias del Mar Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso Valparaíso ChileGEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel Kiel GermanyGEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel Kiel GermanyDepartment of Ocean Science and Engineering Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen ChinaAbstract Polar freshwater ecosystems are sensitive to climate change, facing increasing temperatures and its consequences such as glacier retreat. Phosphorus and/or fixed nitrogen are widely expected to limit primary production in most freshwater environments, however the role of micronutrients is largely un‐characterized. We measured dissolved nitrate and nitrite, phosphate, cobalt, iron, manganese and zinc in a selection of Greenland and Antarctic lakes, and report the first evaluation of cobalt regulating phytoplankton growth in these systems using bioassay incubations. Results showed cobalt potentially co‐limited phytoplankton in three of the eight sites tested. A time‐series of dissolved cobalt measured in Kobbefjord (southwest Greenland) runoff corroborated low cobalt availability during summer. This was in contrast to manganese and iron which remained at high concentrations throughout summer. We hypothesize that high manganese:cobalt and/or zinc:cobalt ratios in runoff, may impede cellular cobalt acquisition, meaning cobalt co‐limitation of primary production is plausible in many polar freshwater environments.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL110065trace metal biogeochemistrycobalt limitationglobal warming |
| spellingShingle | Kechen Zhu Jana Krause Camila Marín‐Arias Mireia Mestre Juan Höfer Thomas J. Browning Eric P. Achterberg Mark J. Hopwood An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions? Geophysical Research Letters trace metal biogeochemistry cobalt limitation global warming |
| title | An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions? |
| title_full | An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions? |
| title_fullStr | An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions? |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions? |
| title_short | An Impact of Cobalt on Freshwater Phytoplankton in Warming Polar Regions? |
| title_sort | impact of cobalt on freshwater phytoplankton in warming polar regions |
| topic | trace metal biogeochemistry cobalt limitation global warming |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL110065 |
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