Selden
Corday
Selden
Corday
No Thumbnail Available
Search Results
Now showing
1 - 6 of 6
-
ArticleHigh rates of N-2 fixation in temperate, western North Atlantic coastal waters expand the realm of marine diazotrophy(American Geophysical Union, 2019-06-10) Mulholland, Margaret R. ; Bernhardt, Peter W. ; Widner, Brittany ; Selden, Corday ; Chappell, Phoebe Dreux ; Clayton, Sophie A. ; Mannino, Antonio ; Hyde, Kimberly J. W.Dinitrogen (N2) fixation can alleviate N limitation of primary productivity by introducing fixed nitrogen (N) to the world's oceans. Although measurements of pelagic marine N2 fixation are predominantly from oligotrophic oceanic regions, where N limitation is thought to favor growth of diazotrophic microbes, here we report high rates of N2 fixation from seven cruises spanning four seasons in temperate, western North Atlantic coastal waters along the North American continental shelf between Cape Hatteras and Nova Scotia, an area representing 6.4% of the North Atlantic continental shelf area. Integrating average areal rates of N2 fixation during each season and for each domain in the study area, the estimated N input from N2 fixation to this temperate shelf system is 0.02 Tmol N/year, an amount equivalent to that previously estimated for the entire North Atlantic continental shelf. Unicellular group A cyanobacteria (UCYN‐A) were most often the dominant diazotrophic group expressing nifH, a gene encoding the nitrogenase enzyme, throughout the study area during all seasons. This expands the domain of these diazotrophs to include coastal waters where dissolved N concentrations are not always depleted. Further, the high rates of N2 fixation and diazotroph diversity along the western North Atlantic continental shelf underscore the need to reexamine the biogeography and the activity of diazotrophs along continental margins. Accounting for this substantial but previously overlooked source of new N to marine systems necessitates revisions to global marine N budgets.
-
ArticleCoastal upwelling enhances abundance of a symbiotic diazotroph (UCYN-A) and its haptophyte host in the Arctic Ocean(Frontiers Media, 2022-09-05) Selden, Corday R. ; Einarsson, Sveinn V. ; Lowry, Kate E. ; Crider, Katherine E. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Lin, Peigen ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Chappell, P. DreuxThe apparently obligate symbiosis between the diazotroph Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa (UCYN-A) and its haptophyte host,Braarudosphaera bigelowii , has recently been found to fix dinitrogen (N2) in polar waters at rates (per cell) comparable to those observed in the tropical/subtropical oligotrophic ocean basins. This study presents the novel observation that this symbiosis increased in abundance during a wind-driven upwelling event along the Alaskan Beaufort shelfbreak. As upwelling relaxed, the relative abundance of B. bigelowii among eukaryotic phytoplankton increased most significantly in waters over the upper slope. As the host’s nitrogen demands are believed to be supplied primarily by UCYN-A, this response suggests that upwelling may enhance N2 fixation as displaced coastal waters are advected offshore, potentially extending the duration of upwelling-induced phytoplankton blooms. Given that such events are projected to increase in intensity and number with ocean warming, upwelling-driven N2 fixation as a feedback on climate merits investigation.
-
ArticleDiatom hotspots driven by western boundary current instability(American Geophysical Union, 2021-05-11) Oliver, Hilde ; Zhang, Weifeng G. ; Smith, Walker O. ; Alatalo, Philip ; Chappell, Phoebe Dreux ; Hirzel, Andrew ; Selden, Corday ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Stanley, Rachel H. R. ; Zhu, Yifan ; McGillicuddy, Dennis J.Climatic changes have decreased the stability of the Gulf Stream (GS), increasing the frequency at which its meanders interact with the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) continental shelf and slope region. These intrusions are thought to suppress biological productivity by transporting low-nutrient water to the otherwise productive shelf edge region. Here we present evidence of widespread, anomalously intense subsurface diatom hotspots in the MAB slope sea that likely resulted from a GS intrusion in July 2019. The hotspots (at ∼50 m) were associated with water mass properties characteristic of GS water (∼100 m); it is probable that the hotspots resulted from the upwelling of GS water during its transport into the slope sea, likely by a GS meander directly intruding onto the continental slope east of where the hotspots were observed. Further work is required to unravel how increasingly frequent direct GS intrusions could influence MAB marine ecosystems.
-
ArticleToward resolving disparate accounts of the extent and magnitude of nitrogen fixation in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific oxygen deficient zone(Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, 2021-04-07) Selden, Corday ; Mulholland, Margaret R. ; Widner, Brittany ; Bernhardt, Peter W. ; Jayakumar, AmalExamination of dinitrogen (N2) fixation in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific oxygen deficient zone has raised questions about the range of diazotrophs in the deep sea and their quantitative importance as a source of new nitrogen globally. However, technical considerations in the deployment of stable isotopes in quantifying N2 fixation rates have complicated interpretation of this research. Here, we report the findings of a comprehensive survey of N2 fixation within, above and below the Eastern Tropical South Pacific oxygen deficient zone. N2 fixation rates were measured using a robust 15N tracer method (bubble removal) that accounts for the slow dissolution of N2 gas and calculated using a conservative approach. N2 fixation was only detected in a subset of samples (8 of 125 replicated measurements) collected within suboxic waters (< 20 μmol O2 kg−1) or at the oxycline. Most of these detectable rates were measured at nearshore stations, or where surface productivity was high. These findings support the hypothesis that low oxygen/high organic carbon conditions favor non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs. Nevertheless, this study indicates that N2 fixation is neither widespread nor quantitatively important throughout this region.
-
ArticleDinitrogen fixation across physico-chemical gradients of the Eastern Tropical North Pacific oxygen deficient zone(American Geophysical Union, 2019-09-04) Selden, Corday ; Mulholland, Margaret R. ; Bernhardt, Peter W. ; Widner, Brittany ; Macias-Tapia, Alfonso ; Ji, Qixing ; Jayakumar, D. A.The Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean hosts one of the world's largest oceanic oxygen deficient zones (ODZs). Hot spots for reactive nitrogen (Nr) removal processes, ODZs generate conditions proposed to promote Nr inputs via dinitrogen (N2) fixation. In this study, we quantified N2 fixation rates by 15N tracer bioassay across oxygen, nutrient, and light gradients within and adjacent to the ODZ. Within subeuphotic oxygen‐deplete waters, N2 fixation was largely undetectable; however, addition of dissolved organic carbon stimulated N2 fixation in suboxic (<20 μmol/kg O2) waters, suggesting that diazotroph communities are likely energy limited or carbon limited and able to fix N2 despite high ambient concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen. Elevated rates (>9 nmol N·L−1·day−1) were also observed in suboxic waters near volcanic islands where N2 fixation was quantifiable to 3,000 m. Within the overlying euphotic waters, N2 fixation rates were highest near the continent, exceeding 500 μmol N·m−2·day−1 at one third of inshore stations. These findings support the expansion of the known range of diazotrophs to deep, cold, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen‐replete waters. Additionally, this work bolsters calls for the reconsideration of ocean margins as important sources of Nr. Despite high rates at some inshore stations, regional N2 fixation appears insufficient to compensate for Nr loss locally as observed previously in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific ODZ.
-
ArticleNitrogen fixation at the Mid‐Atlantic Bight Shelfbreak and transport of newly fixed nitrogen to the Slope Sea(American Geophysical Union, 2024-04-05) Selden, Corday R. ; Mulholland, Margaret R. ; Crider, Katie E. ; Clayton, Sophie A. ; Macias-Tapia, Alfonso ; Bernhardt, Peter W. ; McGillicuddy, Dennis J. ; Zhang, Weifeng Gordon ; Chappell, Phoebe DreuxContinental shelves contribute a large fraction of the ocean's new nitrogen (N) via N2 fixation; yet, we know little about how physical processes at the ocean's margins shape diazotroph biogeography and activity. Here, we test the hypothesis that frontal mixing favors N2 fixation at the Mid-Atlantic Bight shelfbreak. Using the 15N2 bubble release method, we measured N2 fixation rates on repeat cross-frontal transects in July 2019. N2 fixation rates in shelf waters (median = 5.42 nmol N L−1 d−1) were higher than offshore (2.48 nmol N L−1 d−1) but did not significantly differ front frontal waters (8.42 nmol N L−1 d−1). However, specific N2 uptake rates, indicative of the relative contribution of diazotroph-derived N to particulate N turnover, were significantly higher in frontal waters, suggesting that diazotroph-derived N is of greater importance in supporting productivity there. This study furthered captured an ephemeral shelf-water streamer, which resulted from the impingement of a warm core ring on the shelf. The streamer transported shelf-water diazotrophs (including UCYN-A and Richelia spp., as assessed by qPCR) offshore with sustained high N2 fixation rates. This feature injected >50 metric tons d−1 of newly fixed N to the Slope Sea—a rate equivalent to ∼4% of the total N flux estimated for the entire Mid-Atlantic Bight. As intrusions of Gulf Stream meanders and eddies onto the shelf are increasing in frequency due to climate change, episodic lateral fluxes of new N into the Slope Sea may become increasingly important to regional budgets and ecosystem productivity.