Jesús M. Mercado

Research Field

Abstract Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria are a common part of microbial communities in the sunlit ocean. They contain bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a )‐based photosystems that harvest solar energy for their metabolism. Across different oceanic regions, AAP bacteria seem to be more abundant in eutrophic areas, associated with high chlorophyll concentrations. While most previous studies focused on surface samplings, there is limited information regarding their vertical distribution in euphotic zones of the major ocean basins. Here, we hypothesized that AAP bacteria will follow a similar structure to the chlorophyll depth profile across areas with different degrees of stratification. To test this hypothesis, we enumerated AAP cells and determined bulk water BChl a concentrations along the photic zone of a latitudinal transect in the South and Central Atlantic Ocean. Overall, the distribution of AAP bacteria was highly correlated to that of chlorophyll a and to the abundance of picophytoplankton across both vertical and horizontal gradients. Furthermore, estimated light energy captured across the water column showed that, while AAP bacteria share a common latitudinal pattern of light absorption with picophytoplankton, they display a unique vertical arrangement with highest photoheterotrophic activity in the top 50 m of the surface ocean.

Anoxygenic photosynthesis

Bioenergetics

Diel vertical migration

10.1002/lno.12682

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Ecofisiología y bomba biológica en el océano

Interciencia (2002)

Jesús M. Mercado

ctualmente la sociedad sehalla inmersa en un pro-ceso que se ha venido enllamar globalizacion, termino que impreg-na todas las disciplinas sociales y que em-pieza a repercutir en la manera de proce-der de muchas disciplinas cientificas. Du-rante la ultima decada, el paradigma cien-tifico de la globalizacion es quizas lo quese ha venido en llamar el cambio climati-co, que se ha traducido en Ecologia endos preguntas: 1) ?como afecta el cambioclimatico a los ecosistemas? 2) ?como ac-tuan los ecosistemas en la amortiguacionde dicho cambio? Ambas preguntas partende un hecho que se supone consolidado,tal es, que se esta produciendo un cambioen el clima del Planeta (ver Houghton,1997 para una revision). Se considera queel CO

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Regulation of the mechanism for HCO 3 − use by the inorganic carbon level in Porphyra leucosticta Thur. in Le Jolis (Rhodophyta)

Planta (1997)

Jesús M. Mercado F. Xavier Niell Félix L. Figueroa

Total inorganic carbon

Porphyra

10.1007/s004250050073

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Citations (57)

Diurnal changes in the bio-optical properties of the phytoplankton in the Alborán Sea (Mediterranean Sea)