Microscale Vertical Profiles of N 2 Fixation, Photosynthesis, O 2 , Chlorophyll a , and Light in a Cyanobacterial Assemblage

Profiles of N(2) fixation, O(2) production (gross photosynthesis), O(2) concentration, chlorophyll a concentration, and photon fluence rates were measured with 50-mum resolution in colonies of the heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium Nostoc parmelioides. Microelectrode measurements were made after 20 h of incubation under N(2) gas. Colonies were frozen, and 50-mum sections were prepared by using a freezing microtome and analyzed for N enrichment and chlorophyll a concentration. Colonies exhibited steep spatial gradients in rates of gross photosynthesis, O(2) concentration, and irradiance, with the highest values generally occurring at the surface. O(2) concentration, photosynthesis, and irradiance all showed positive correlations, but chlorophyll a concentrations varied independently of photosynthesis and irradiance. Forty-four percent of the variation in N incorporation was explained by gross photosynthesis (a positive correlation) when incorporation of N was expressed per unit of biomass (chlorophyll a).