Phosphate limitation intensifies negative effects of ocean acidification on globally important nitrogen fixing cyanobacterium

Abstract

How reduced seawater pH and increased carbon dioxide might affect the prominent nitrogen fixer Trichodesmium in phosphorus-limited oceans is poorly understood. This study used phosphate-limited chemostat experiments to show that Trichodesmium may fix less nitrogen for a given amount of phosphorus at low pH. Thus, marine productivity is likely to decline in a future, more acidic ocean.