Stief Peter, Poulsen Morten, Nielsen Lars Peter, Brix Hans, Schramm Andreas
Section of Microbiology, Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Mar 17;106(11):4296-300. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0808228106. Epub 2009 Mar 2.
A large variety of aquatic animals was found to emit the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide when nitrate was present in the environment. The emission was ascribed to denitrification by ingested bacteria in the anoxic animal gut, and the exceptionally high N(2)O-to-N(2) production ratio suggested delayed induction of the last step of denitrification. Filter- and deposit-feeding animal species showed the highest rates of nitrous oxide emission and predators the lowest, probably reflecting the different amounts of denitrifying bacteria in the diet. We estimate that nitrous oxide emission by aquatic animals is quantitatively important in nitrate-rich aquatic environments like freshwater, coastal marine, and deep-sea ecosystems. The contribution of this source to overall nitrous oxide emission from aquatic environments might further increase because of the projected increase of nitrate availability in tropical regions and the numeric dominance of filter- and deposit-feeders in eutrophic ecosystems.
研究发现,当环境中存在硝酸盐时,多种水生动物会排放强效温室气体一氧化二氮。这种排放归因于动物缺氧肠道中摄入细菌的反硝化作用,而异常高的一氧化二氮与氮气产生比率表明反硝化作用最后一步的诱导延迟。滤食性和沉积食性动物物种的一氧化二氮排放率最高,捕食性动物的排放率最低,这可能反映了食物中反硝化细菌数量的差异。我们估计,在淡水、沿海海洋和深海生态系统等富含硝酸盐的水生环境中,水生动物的一氧化二氮排放具有重要的数量意义。由于热带地区硝酸盐可利用性预计会增加,以及富营养化生态系统中滤食性和沉积食性动物在数量上占主导地位,该来源对水生环境一氧化二氮总排放的贡献可能会进一步增加。