ReviewEcology and evolution2014
Benthic N2 fixation in coral reefs and the potential effects of human-induced environmental change.
Review in Ecology and evolution, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Benthic bacteria communities of coral reefs are shaped by sediment properties rather than coral trophic state.PloS one · 2026Article
- Gene content of seawater microbes is a strong predictor of water chemistry across the Great Barrier Reef.Microbiome · 2025Article
- Temperature-dependent responses of the hard corals Acropora sp. and Pocillopora verrucosa to molecular hydrogen.PloS one · 2025Article
- Saving coral reefs: significance and biotechnological approaches for coral conservation.Advanced biotechnology · 2024Review
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- Gene loss and symbiont switching during adaptation to the deep sea in a globally distributed symbiosis.The ISME journal · 2023Article
- The diversity and metabolic potential of the microbial functional gene associated with Porites pukoensis.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2021Article
- Relative abundance of nitrogen cycling microbes in coral holobionts reflects environmental nitrate availability.Royal Society open science · 2021Article
- First insights into the impacts of benthic cyanobacterial mats on fish herbivory functions on a nearshore coral reef.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Unravelling the Importance of Diazotrophy in Corals - Combined Assessment of Nitrogen Assimilation, Diazotrophic Community and Natural Stable Isotope Signatures.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- Coral Reef Microorganisms in a Changing Climate.iScience · 2020Review
- A genomic view of the reef-building coral Porites lutea and its microbial symbionts.Nature microbiology · 2019Article
- Metagenomic, phylogenetic, and functional characterization of predominant endolithic green sulfur bacteria in the coral Isopora palifera.Microbiome · 2019Article
- Nitrogen Fixation in Thermophilic Chemosynthetic Microbial Communities Depending on Hydrogen, Sulfate, and Carbon Dioxide.Microbes and environments · 2018Article
- Diazotroph diversity and nitrogen fixation in the coral Stylophora pistillata from the Great Barrier Reef.The ISME journal · 2018Article
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- Chemosynthetic symbionts of marine invertebrate animals are capable of nitrogen fixation.Nature microbiology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tropical coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems, despite being surrounded by ocean waters where nutrients are in short supply. Benthic dinitrogen (N2) fixation is a significant internal source of "new" nitrogen (N) in reef ecosystems, but related information appears to be sparse. Here, we review the current state (and gaps) of knowledge on N2 fixation associated with coral reef organisms and their ecosystems. By summarizing the existing literature, we show that benthic N2 fixation is an omnipresent process in tropical reef environments. Highest N2 fixation rates are detected in reef-associated cyanobacterial mats and sea grass meadows, clearly showing the significance of these functional groups, if present, to the input of new N in reef ecosystems. Nonetheless, key benthic organisms such as hard corals also importantly contribute to benthic N2 fixation in the reef. Given the usually high coral coverage of healthy reef systems, these results indicate that benthic symbiotic associations may be more important than previously thought. In fact, mutualisms between carbon (C) and N2 fixers have likely evolved that may enable reef communities to mitigate N limitation. We then explore the potential effects of the increasing human interferences on the process of benthic reef N2 fixation via changes in diazotrophic populations, enzymatic activities, or availability of benthic substrates favorable to these microorganisms. Current knowledge indicates positive effects of ocean acidification, warming, and deoxygenation and negative effects of increased ultraviolet radiation on the amount of N fixed in coral reefs. Eutrophication may either boost or suppress N2 fixation, depending on the nutrient becoming limiting. As N2 fixation appears to play a fundamental role in nutrient-limited reef ecosystems, these assumptions need to be expanded and confirmed by future research efforts addressing the knowledge gaps identified in this review.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.