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Abstract

We analysed N-2- and carbon (C) fixation in individual cells of Baltic Sea cyanobacteria by combining stable isotope incubations with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Specific growth rates based on N-2- and C-fixation were higher for cells of Dolichospermum spp. than for Aphanizomenon sp. and Nodularia spumigena. The cyanobacterial biomass, however, was dominated by Aphanizomenon sp., which contributed most to total N-2-fixation in surface waters of the Northern Baltic Proper. N-2-fixation by Pseudanabaena sp. and colonial picocyanobacteria was not detectable. N-2-fixation by Aphanizomenon sp., Dolichospermum spp. and N. spumigena populations summed up to total N-2-fixation, thus these genera appeared as sole diazotrophs within the Baltic Sea's euphotic zone, while their mean contribution to total C-fixation was 21%. Intriguingly, cell-specific N-2-fixation was eightfold higher at a coastal station compared to an offshore station, revealing coastal zones as habitats with substantial N-2-fixation. At the coastal station, the cell-specific C-to N-2-fixation ratio was below the cellular C: N ratio, i.e. N-2 was assimilated in excess to C-fixation, whereas the C-to N-2-fixation ratio exceeded the C: N ratio in offshore sampled diazotrophs. Our findings highlight SIMS as a powerful tool not only for qualitative but also for quantitative N-2-fixation assays in aquatic environments.