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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

High-Throughput Measurement and Classification of Organic P in Environmental Samples
Published on: June 8, 2011
Nature of phosphorus limitation in the ultraoligotrophic eastern Mediterranean
T F Thingstad1, M D Krom, R F C Mantoura
1Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. frede.thingstad@bio.uib.no
Abstract:
Phosphate addition to surface waters of the ultraoligotrophic, phosphorus-starved eastern Mediterranean in a Lagrangian experiment caused unexpected ecosystem responses. The system exhibited a decline in chlorophyll and an increase in bacterial production and copepod egg abundance. Although nitrogen and phosphorus colimitation hindered phytoplankton growth, phosphorous may have been transferred through the microbial food web to copepods via two, not mutually exclusive, pathways: (i) bypass of the phytoplankton compartment by phosphorus uptake in heterotrophic bacteria and (ii) tunnelling, whereby phosphate luxury consumption rapidly shifts the stoichiometric composition of copepod prey. Copepods may thus be coupled to lower trophic levels through interactions not usually considered.
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