Role of protozoan grazing in relieving iron limitation of phytoplankton

RECENT evidence indicates that iron is a limiting factor in primary production in some areas of the oceans(1,2). In sea water, iron is largely present in the form of particulate and colloidal phases which are apparently unavailable for uptake by phytoplankton(3-5). Several mechanisms have been proposed whereby non-reactive iron may be converted into more labile forms (for example, thermal dissolution(6), photochemical reactions(7,8) and ligand complexation(9)). Here we report that digestion of colloidal iron in the acidic food vacuoles of protozoan grazers may be a mechanism for the generation of 'bioavailable' iron from refractory iron phases. We have demonstrated several grazer-mediated effects on colloidal ferrihydrite, including a decrease in colloid size, an increase in colloid lability as determined by competitive ligand-exchange techniques, and an increase in the bioavailability of colloids to iron-limited diatoms. These results indicate that protozoan grazers may significantly enhance the supply of iron to marine phytoplankton from terrestrial sources.