Stoichiometric Aspects of Nutrient Recycling in Aquatic Ecosystems

Stoichiometric aspects of nutrient recycling in aquatic ecosystems 

We have considered already that phosphate is a limiting nutrient in most freshwater and probably very often in marine water ecosystems as well. The P cycling is thus of great importance for understanding biogeochemical interactions inside aquatic ecosystems. Phosphorus always occurs as phosphate, in its many inorganic and or- 

There is experimental evidence of differential release of nutrients by zooplankton. Firstly, evidence shows that grazers maintain nearly constant body nutrient ratios despite variations in food ratios. Secondly, other experiments show that grazer nutrient 

Some evidence indicates that differential nutrient cycling can indeed affect algal growth, but this would appear to be affected by other factors as well. In Castle Lake, California, USA, for example, Esler (1999) showed that the relative severity of N to P limitation of algae was correlated to estimated grazer N P ratios in two out of three study years. 

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