Seasonal variation of inorganic nutrient uptake by heterotrophic bacterioplankton in Jiaozhou Bay, North China

The distribution patterns and factors affecting uptake rates and turnover times of dissolved inorganic nutrients by heterotrophic bacterioplankton (HB) in Jiaozhou Bay were studied based on in situ surveys and laboratory culturing. The uptake rates of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) by HB are limited by the temperature of the water and the concentration of dissolved organic carbon. The turnover times of DIP and DIN by HB are regulated by the concentrations of the nutrients and the numbers of HB, which show significant spatiotemporal variability in Jiaozhou Bay. HB may aggravate the P-limitation of phytoplankton by competing for phosphorus in summer in Jiaozhou Bay. HB play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and may increase the N:P ratio and the accumulation of DIN, thereby accelerating the imbalance of the N:P ratio in Jiaozhou Bay.