Understanding the zooplankton ammonium excretionfrom biogeochemical implications to intracellular regulatory mechanisms
- Fernández Urruzola, Igor
- María Milagrosa Gómez Cabrera Zuzendaria
- Theodore Train Packard Zuzendaria
Defentsa unibertsitatea: Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Fecha de defensa: 2016(e)ko urtarrila-(a)k 22
- Fidel Echevarría Navas Presidentea
- Antonio J. González Ramos Idazkaria
- Lidia Yebra Mora Kidea
- Carlos Almeida Peña Kidea
- María Huete Ortega Kidea
Mota: Tesia
Laburpena
[EN] This thesis focuses on the zooplankton NH4+ regeneration that supports about the 80% of the phytoplankton requirements. In its more oceanographic facet, it elucidates the control that the mesozooplankton community exerts on the primary productivity in the northern Benguela, and models the N-fluxes from zooplankton NH4+ excretion. At the physiological level, it examines the relationship between the NH4+ excretion and its associated biochemistry. Assuming the substrate availability as the critical factor in regulating the velocity of NH4+ production, a bisubstrate model was developed to predict its actual rate in zooplankton. Overall, this research provides knowledge about the implications of zooplankton NH4+ excretion on the biogeochemical cycles, and introduces new insights into the study of this process from enzymatic measurements.