The influence of iron, siderophores and refractory DOM on cyanobacterial biomass in oligotrophic lakes

Summary Our conceptual understanding of factors that promote cyanobacterial growth is inadequate in the face of rising public concern about cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic freshwater lakes. We hypothesised that cyanobacterial density would be highest in lakes with low levels of phosphorus (P),...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Freshwater biology 2014-07, Vol.59 (7), p.1423-1436
Main Authors: Sorichetti, Ryan J., Creed, Irena F., Trick, Charles G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Cyanobacteria
dissolved organic matter
Fresh water ecosystems
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
iron
Nitrates
oligotrophic
siderophore
Synecology
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Summary:Summary Our conceptual understanding of factors that promote cyanobacterial growth is inadequate in the face of rising public concern about cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic freshwater lakes. We hypothesised that cyanobacterial density would be highest in lakes with low levels of phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), total dissolved iron (TDFe) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) with labile properties, where cyanobacteria use siderophores to scavenge Fe and overcome Fe limitation. We tested this hypothesis by measuring cyanobacterial density during peak biomass in 25 oligotrophic lakes representing gradients in total P (TP), nitrate, TDFe and DOM concentrations. Total phytoplankton biomass, using chlorophyll‐a (chl‐a) as a proxy, was a function of TP (r2 = 0.83, P 
ISSN:0046-5070
1365-2427
DOI:10.1111/fwb.12355