The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Helena Filipsson, foto Erik Thor

Helena Filipsson

Professor

Helena Filipsson, foto Erik Thor

Denitrification by benthic foraminifera and their contribution to N-loss from a fjord environment

Author

  • Constance Choquel
  • Emmanuelle Geslin
  • Edouard Metzger
  • Helena L. Filipsson
  • Nils Risgard-Petersen
  • Patrick Launeau
  • Manuel Giraud
  • Thierry Jauffrais
  • Bruno Jesus
  • Aurelia Mouret

Summary, in English

Oxygen and nitrate availabilities impact the marine nitrogen cycle at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Here, we demonstrate the impact of denitrifying foraminifera on the nitrogen cycle at two oxygen and nitrate contrasting stations in a fjord environment (Gullmar Fjord, Sweden). Denitrification by benthic foraminifera was determined through the combination of specific density counting per microhabitat and specific nitrate respiration rates obtained through incubation experiments using N2O microsensors. Benthic nitrate removal was calculated from submillimeter chemical gradients extracted from 2D porewater images of the porewater nitrate concentration. These were acquired by combining the DET technique (diffusive equilibrium in thin film) with chemical colorimetry and hyperspectral imagery. Sediments with high nitrate concentrations in the porewater and oxygenated overlying water were dominated by the non-indigenous species (NIS) Nonionella sp. T1. Denitrification by this species could account for 50 %-100 % of the nitrate loss estimated from the nitrate gradients. In contrast sediments below hypoxic bottom waters had low inventories of porewater nitrate, and denitrifying foraminifera were rare. Their contribution to benthic nitrate removal was negligible (< 5 %). Our study showed that benthic foraminifera can be a major contributor to nitrogen mitigation in oxic coastal ecosystems and should be included in ecological and diagenetic models aiming to understand biogeochemical cycles coupled to nitrogen.

Department/s

  • Quaternary Sciences

Publishing year

2021-01-15

Language

English

Pages

327-341

Publication/Series

Biogeosciences

Volume

18

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Copernicus GmbH

Topic

  • Geology
  • Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
  • Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1726-4170