Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

A Process-Based Approach To Evaluating The Role Of Organic Ligands In Trace Metal Cycling In The Marine Environment, Travis Mellett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In addition to control by major nutrient elements (nitrogen, phosphorous, and silicon) growth and community composition of marine phytoplankton is also regulated by trace element nutrients (iron, copper, manganese, zinc, cobalt, nickel, and cadmium). Of these, iron is the most influential in the modern ocean, regulating phytoplankton growth and carbon export in high-nutrient low-chlorophyll regimes and exerting an important control on the marine nitrogen cycle through its role in di-nitrogen fixation. The distributions of these metals has the capacity to control primary production and phytoplankton community composition through differences in cellular quotas or metal sensitivities amongst species. The relationship between …