Nitrogen excretion by copepods and its effect on ammonia-oxidizing communities from a coastal upwelling zone

The role of zooplankton in microbial nitrogen turnover in marine environments is poorly understood. Here, we present results from two experiments designed to determine the excretion rate of ammonium and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) by dominant copepods, Acartia tonsa and Paracalanus cf indicus, fed with two natural sized-fractioned diets (20–150 μm and