Evidence of heterotrophic prokaryotic activity limitation by nitrogen in the Western Arctic Ocean during summer

Global warming in the Arctic Ocean may result in changes to the stock and dynamics of nutrients that drive the activity of heterotrophic prokaryotes, a key component of the microbial food web. We performed 14 enrichment experiments during summer in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Western Arctic Ocean), with C (acetate and/or glucose), N (nitrate and/or ammonium) and P (phosphate) amendments. In 8 out of 11 experiments performed with surface waters, prokaryotic heterotrophic production was limited by N, either alone (5 experiments) or in co-limitation with C (3 experiments). This contrasted with the experiments performed using waters from the chlorophyll maxima, where N was never limiting. Diversity analyses (DNA- and RNA-based fingerprinting) suggest that limitation was not restricted to specific operational taxonomic units but common to the different groups. This is the first report of N limitation of prokaryotic heterotrophic production in Arctic surface waters. This control by N may gain importance in future scenarios of higher productivity in the area.