10.5061/DRYAD.3TX95X6FP
Erler, Dirk
0000-0003-1242-7311
Southern Cross University
Kelly, Katie
Southern Cross University
Rates of ascidian mediated nitrogen cycling
Dryad
dataset
2021
Biogeochemistry
Australian Research Council
https://ror.org/05mmh0f86
DP170100734
2021-02-08T00:00:00Z
2021-02-08T00:00:00Z
en
16547 bytes
2
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Large solitary ascidians, like Herdmania grandis (Heller), can dominate
the benthic substrates of subtropical and temperate reefs, however their
influence on nitrogen cycling, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O)
production, is unknown. Here we incubated individual H. grandis and
compared fluxes of dissolved inorganic and gaseous nitrogen species to
fluxes from reef sediments. Nitrous oxide production rates per individual
ascidian (21 ± 8 nmol ind h-1) are the highest reported for any marine
invertebrate. An individual ascidian produced more N2O than a m2 of
sediment (1.7 ± 1.7 nmol m-2 h-1). Ascidian mediated N2O production was
found to occur under nutrient depleted conditions. While the addition of
15N labelled organic material showed that H. grandis facilitates both
nitrification and denitrification, the contribution of these pathways to
N2O production could not be ascertained. As the ecology of temperate reefs
change, any range expansion of H. grandis will increase coastal N2O
production.
The Ascidian Herdmania grandis was collected from a subtropical reef on
the east coast of Australia and incubated in sealed chambers. Some
chambers received particulate organic nutrients (PON) and some received
dissovled organic nutrients ((DON). Sediments were also incubated as a
comparison. Rates of nitrogen processing were measured and this data has
been collated. The data presented in this dataset are the calculated areal
rates of nitrogen processing.