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TL;DR
Mean mass-specific rates scaled to areal estimates rival those of productive planktonic and coastal macroalgal diazotrophs, suggesting Sargassum epiphytic nitrogen fixation may contribute meaningfully to the marine nitrogen budget.
PLOS ONE · 6 authors, 5 centres
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Mean mass-specific rates scaled to areal estimates rival those of productive planktonic and coastal macroalgal diazotrophs, suggesting Sargassum epiphytic nitrogen fixation may contribute meaningfully to the marine nitrogen budget.
This six-year study measured nitrogen fixation by epiphytic diazotrophs on pelagic Sargassum fronds collected from the western Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. On 24 occasions from 2015 to 2021, whole fronds were assayed using the acetylene reduction technique, yielding mass-specific rates ranging from 0 to 37.77 μmol N g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with a mean of 4.156 ± 0.9243 μmol N g⁻¹ h⁻¹ (n = 61). The study notes that areal extrapolations are mat-specific and intended for comparison with other diazotroph systems, not for basin-wide extrapolation. Results suggest Sargassum's epiphytic diazotrophs may represent an overlooked contributor to reactive nitrogen inputs in the Atlantic.