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The upwelling of nutrients and iron (Fe) sustains biological production in much of the Southern Ocean. Using a shipboard natural community continuous culture system (Ecostat), we supplied a single added Fe concentration at two dilution rates chosen to examine the effects of variations in realistic growth and loss rates on an Fe-limited algal community in the Antarctic Zone south of Australia. A parallel growout experiment provided “no-dilution” +Fe and −Fe controls. In the continuous flow experiment, phytoplankton biomass was lower and more constant throughout the incubation and major nutrients were never depleted. Nanophytoplankton abundance remained similar in both growout treatments, and therefore, growth of this group did not appear to be Fe-limited. The addition of Fe in a continuous fashion resulted in a community co-dominated by both small diatoms and nanophytoplankton. Increases in dilution rate favored diatom species that were smaller and faster-growing, as well as non-silicified algal groups. Particulate carbon (PC) to particulate nitrogen (PN) ratios increased above the Redfield ratio when Fe was added in a continuous fashion, while biogenic silica (BSi) to PC and PN ratios decreased 2–3 fold in the continuous flow experiment compared to the initial conditions and the parallel growout control experiment. Photosynthetic efficiency increased in the continuous flow treatments above the control but remained significantly lower than in the 1.4 nM Fe addition. The results of our shipboard continuous flow experiments are compared and contrasted with those of the mesoscale Southern Ocean Iron RElease Experiment (SOIREE) carried out at the same site. Our results suggest that increases in natural dilution rates (i.e. vertical turbulent diffusion) in polar Antarctic waters could shift the algal community towards smaller, faster-growing algal species, thus having a major effect on nutrient cycling and carbon export in the Southern Ocean.

Interpretation of photosynthetic pigment data using iterative programs such as CHEMTAX are widely used to examine algal community structure in the surface ocean. The accuracy of such programs relies on understanding the effects of environmental parameters on the pigment composition of taxonomically diverse algal groups. Phaeocystis antarctica is an important contributor to total autotrophic production and the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and sulfur in the Southern Ocean. Here we report the results of a laboratory culture experiment in which we examined the effects of ambient dissolved iron concentration on the pigment composition of colonial P. antarctica, using a new P. antarctica strain isolated from the southern Ross Sea in December 2003. Low-iron ( 3) indicative of Fe stress. We also observed that the ratio of fucoxanthin to 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (Fuco:Hex ratio) was highly correlated (r 2 = 0.82) with initial dissolved Fe concentration, with Fuco:Hex ratios

We have carried out field and laboratory experiments to examine the iron requirements of colonial Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea. In December 2003, we performed an iron/light-manipulation bioassay experiment in the Ross Sea polynya, using an algal assemblage dominated by colonial Phaeocystis antarctica, collected from surface waters with an ambient dissolved Fe concentration of ∼0.4 nM. Results from this experiment suggest that P. antarctica growth rates were enhanced at high irradiance (∼50% of incident surface irradiance) but were unaffected by iron addition, and that elevated irradiance mediated a significant decrease in cellular chlorophyll a content. We also conducted a laboratory iron dose–response bioassay experiment using a unialgal, non-axenic strain of colonial P. antarctica and low-iron (

The influence of iron on phytoplankton biogenic sulfur production, physiological status, and community structure in the Peruvian Upwelling System was investigated in September 2000. Vertical profiles of particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPp) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSOp) were measured at stations along two transects passing from the high-iron waters of the continental shelf, across the Peru trench, to low-iron open-ocean waters. Although chlorophyll a (Chl a) biomass decreased significantly across the shelf, DMSPp and DMSOpconcentrations relative to Chl a were higher at the offshore stations (DMSPp:Chl a 2.3–6.4 times greater and DMSOp:Chl a 2.6–4 times greater). These changes were associated with lower iron concentrations, as well as a shift from diatom-dominated communities to ones dominated by cryptophytes and haptophytes (based on algal pigment concentrations). The results of a shipboard iron-addition incubation experiment were similar to patterns observed on the transects. DMSPp:Chl a ratios decreased with increasing iron and diatoms preferentially outgrew other taxa. The possible role of DMSPpand DMSOpas free radical scavengers (stimulated by iron limitation) was supported by the increased concentrations of these compounds measured under low-iron conditions, as well as by the positive correlations (r2= 0.69 and 0.82, respectively) observed between these compounds and the known antioxidant β-carotene.

We investigated phytoplankton Fe limitation using shipboard incubation experiments in the high-nutrient South American eastern boundary current regime. Low ambient Fe concentrations (;0.1 nM) in water collected from the Humboldt and Peru Currents were supplemented with a range of added Fe levels up to 2.5 nM. Phytoplankton chlorophyll a, photosystem II photosynthetic efficiency, and nitrate and phosphate drawdown increased in proportion to the amount of Fe added. The Humboldt Current algal community after Fe additions included colonial and flagellated Phaeocystis globosa and large pennate diatoms, whereas the Peru Upwelling assemblage was dominated by coccolithophorids and small pennate diatoms. Apparent half-saturation constants for growth of the two communities were 0.17 nM Fe (Humboldt Current) and 0.26 nM Fe (Peru Upwelling). Net molar dissolved Si(OH)4 : NO drawdown ratios were low in both experiments (;0.2‐0.7), but net particulate silica to nitrogen production 2 3 ratios were higher. Fe limitation decreased net NO : PO utilization ratios in the Humboldt Current incubation to 2 32 34 well below Redfield values. Phytoplankton community sinking rates were decreased by Fe additions in the Peru Upwelling, suggesting potential Fe effects on carbon export. Our results confirm that primary producers in the Peru Upwelling/Humboldt Current system can be limited by Fe, but the biological and biogeochemical consequences of Fe limitation differ from Fe-limited California coastal upwelling waters that have been previously studied.