Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1002/lno.70133
Lizenz creative commons licence
Titel (primär) Redfield revisited: Insights into freshwater seston carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus stoichiometry
Autor Andersen, I.M.; Taylor, J.M.; Graeber, D.; Kelly, P.T.; Hoke, A.K.; Robbins, C.J.; Scott, J.T.
Quelle Limnology and Oceanography
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
Department ASAM
Band/Volume 70
Heft S2
Seite von S14
Seite bis S26
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Daten-/Softwarelinks https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28102916
Supplements Supplement 1
Abstract Seston carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry plays a fundamental role in aquatic ecosystems, influencing nutrient cycling, primary and secondary production, and trophic interactions. In freshwater systems such as lakes, P limitation is more common, whereas in marine environments, N more frequently limits primary production, reflecting different nutrient limitation patterns across aquatic ecosystems. The Redfield ratio (C106 : N16 : P1 molar), developed from marine seston, has long been considered a benchmark for nutrient composition and a predictor of nutrient limitation across aquatic ecosystems. A later global freshwater and marine seston survey proposed the Sterner ratio (C166 : N20 : P1 molar) as a broader global seston average. We present the results of a fully replicated, multi-annual freshwater mesocosm experiment testing the effect of variable resource N : P stoichiometry on seston stoichiometry. We found that the seston C : N : P ratio aligned with the Redfield ratio under N-limited conditions, while P-limited conditions aligned with the Sterner global survey of freshwater ecosystems. Ternary plots offered visual insight into stoichiometric shifts, showing a trend toward P depletion relative to C and N as N : P supply increases. The average seston C : N : P ratio observed from our experimental data was C141 : N22 : P1 (molar) and variation in seston C : N : P was small compared to the resource ratio gradient. Our mesocosm experiment showed that the Redfield ratio provides a useful description of seston stoichiometry in N-limited freshwater ecosystems. These findings advance the understanding of bottom-up controls on seston C : N : P stoichiometry and highlight the need to refine ecological theories regarding the application of the Redfield ratio in freshwater ecosystems.
Andersen, I.M., Taylor, J.M., Graeber, D., Kelly, P.T., Hoke, A.K., Robbins, C.J., Scott, J.T. (2025):
Redfield revisited: Insights into freshwater seston carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus stoichiometry
Limnol. Oceanogr. 70 (S2), S14 - S26 10.1002/lno.70133