Pace Michael L.

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Pace
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Michael L.
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  • Article
    Ecological constraints on planktonic nitrogen fixation in saline estuaries. I. Nutrient and trophic controls
    (Inter-Research, 2006-03-15) Marino, Roxanne ; Chan, Francis ; Howarth, Robert W. ; Pace, Michael L. ; Likens, Gene E.
    Heterocystous, planktonic cyanobacteria capable of fixing atmospheric N2 into available nitrogen (N) are common and critically important to nutrient cycling in many lakes, yet they are rarely observed in estuaries at salinities >10 ppt, even when strongly N limited. In a series of mesocosm experiments using water from Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island), we manipulated top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (nutrient) factors hypothesized to exclude heterocystous cyanobacteria from estuaries. We previously reported that planktonic, heterocystous cyanobacteria grew and fixed N in the absence of grazers. Here, we focus on responses to phosphorus (P) additions and grazer manipulations. Zooplankton (Acartia sp.) populations typical of temperate zone estuaries suppressed cyanobacteria, and their influence was direct through grazing rather than indirect on nutrient stoichiometry. Cyanobacterial abundance and heterocysts were low in treatments with no external P inputs. Concentrations of dissolved inorganic P comparable to those in Narragansett Bay were obtained only in P-fertilized mesocosms. Unlike previous estuarine mesocosm experiments with P fertilization, planktonic cyanobacteria grew and fixed N in our experimental systems. However, mean cell and heterocyst abundances under the most favorable conditions (high P, low N:P, and low grazers) were much lower than in comparable freshwater experiments, with N limitation maintained. These results support the hypothesis that intrinsic growth of heterocystous cyanobacteria in saline estuaries is slower than in freshwater, and that slower growth is unlikely to be due to systematic differences in P availability. Slow growth, combined with grazing, can severely limit development of planktonic, N-fixing cyanobacterial blooms in estuaries.
  • Preprint
    Quantifying the effects of commercial clam aquaculture on C and N cycling : an integrated ecosystem approach
    ( 2016-05) Murphy, Anna E. ; Emery, Kyle A. ; Anderson, Iris C. ; Pace, Michael L. ; Brush, Mark J. ; Rheuban, Jennie E.
    Increased interest in using bivalve cultivation to mitigate eutrophication requires a comprehensive understanding of the net carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) budgets associated with cultivation on an ecosystem scale. This study quantified C and N processes related to clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) aquaculture in a shallow coastal environment (Cherrystone Inlet, VA) where the industry has rapidly increased. Clam physiological rates were compared with basin-wide ecosystem fluxes including primary production, benthic nutrient regeneration, and respiration. Although clam beds occupy only 3% of the ecosystem’s surface area, clams filtered 7-44% of the system’s volume daily, consumed an annual average of 103% of the phytoplankton production, creating a large flux of particulate C and N to the sediments. Annually, N regenerated and C respired by clam and microbial metabolism in clam beds were ~3-fold and ~1.5-fold higher, respectively, than N and C removed through harvest. Due to the short water residence time, the low watershed load, and the close vicinity of clam beds to the mouth of Cherrystone Inlet, cultivated clams are likely subsidized by phytoplankton from the Chesapeake Bay. Consequently, much of the N released by mineralization associated with clam cultivation is ‘new’ N as it would not be present in the system without bivalve facilitation. Macroalgae that are fueled by the enhanced N regeneration from clams represents a eutrophying process resulting from aquaculture. This synthesis demonstrates the importance of considering impacts of bivalve aquaculture in an ecosystem context especially relative to the potential of bivalves to remove nutrients and enhance C sinks.
  • Article
    Ideas and perspectives: biogeochemistry - some key foci for the future
    (European Geosciences Union, 2021-05-19) Bianchi, Thomas S. ; Anand, Madhur ; Bauch, Chris T. ; Canfield, Donald E. ; De Meester, Luc ; Fennel, Katja ; Groffman, Peter M. ; Pace, Michael L. ; Saito, Mak A. ; Simpson, Myrna J.
    Biogeochemistry has an important role to play in many environmental issues of current concern related to global change and air, water, and soil quality. However, reliable predictions and tangible implementation of solutions, offered by biogeochemistry, will need further integration of disciplines. Here, we refocus on how further developing and strengthening ties between biology, geology, chemistry, and social sciences will advance biogeochemistry through (1) better incorporation of mechanisms, including contemporary evolutionary adaptation, to predict changing biogeochemical cycles, and (2) implementing new and developing insights from social sciences to better understand how sustainable and equitable responses by society are achieved. The challenges for biogeochemists in the 21st century are formidable and will require both the capacity to respond fast to pressing issues (e.g., catastrophic weather events and pandemics) and intense collaboration with government officials, the public, and internationally funded programs. Keys to success will be the degree to which biogeochemistry can make biogeochemical knowledge more available to policy makers and educators about predicting future changes in the biosphere, on timescales from seasons to centuries, in response to climate change and other anthropogenic impacts. Biogeochemistry also has a place in facilitating sustainable and equitable responses by society.
  • Preprint
    Reconciling carbon-cycle concepts, terminology, and methods
    ( 2006-01-06) Chapin, F. Stuart ; Woodwell, G. M. ; Randerson, James T. ; Rastetter, Edward B. ; Lovett, G. M. ; Baldocchi, Dennis D. ; Clark, D. A. ; Harmon, Mark E. ; Schimel, David S. ; Valentini, R. ; Wirth, C. ; Aber, J. D. ; Cole, Jonathan J. ; Goulden, Michael L. ; Harden, J. W. ; Heimann, M. ; Howarth, Robert W. ; Matson, P. A. ; McGuire, A. David ; Melillo, Jerry M. ; Mooney, H. A. ; Neff, Jason C. ; Houghton, Richard A. ; Pace, Michael L. ; Ryan, M. G. ; Running, Steven W. ; Sala, Osvaldo E. ; Schlesinger, William H. ; Schulze, E.-D.
    Recent patterns and projections of climatic change have focused increased scientific and public attention on patterns of carbon (C) cycling and its controls, particularly the factors that determine whether an ecosystem is a net source or sink of atmospheric CO2. Net ecosystem production (NEP), a central concept in C-cycling research, has been used to represent two different concepts by C-cycling scientists. We propose that NEP be restricted to just one of its two original definitions—the imbalance between gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER), and that a new term—net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB)—be applied to the net rate of C accumulation in (or loss from; negative sign) ecosystems. NECB differs from NEP when C fluxes other than C fixation and respiration occur or when inorganic C enters or leaves in dissolved form. These fluxes include leaching loss or lateral transfer of C from the ecosystem; emission of volatile organic C, methane, and carbon monoxide; and soot and CO2 from fire. C fluxes in addition to NEP are particularly important determinants of NECB over long time scales. However, even over short time scales, they are important in ecosystems such as streams, estuaries, wetlands, and cities. Recent technological advances have led to a diversity of approaches to measuring C fluxes at different temporal and spatial scales. These approaches frequently capture different components of NEP or NECB and can therefore be compared across scales only by carefully specifying the fluxes included in the measurements. By explicitly identifying the fluxes that comprise NECB and other components of the C cycle, such as net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and net biome production (NBP), we provide a less ambiguous framework for understanding and communicating recent changes in the global C cycle. Key words: Net ecosystem production, net ecosystem carbon balance, gross primary production, ecosystem respiration, autotrophic respiration, heterotrophic respiration, net ecosystem exchange, net biome production, net primary production.