ALBERT

Description: The marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was grown in continuous culture systems to study the interactive effects of temperature, irradiance, nutrient limitation, and the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) on its growth and physiological characteristics. The cells were able to grow at all combinations of low and high irradiance (50 and 300 μmol photons/m**2/ s, respectively, of visible light), low and high pCO2 (400 and 1,000 μatm, respectively), nutrient limitation (nitrate‐limited and nutrient‐replete conditions), and temperatures of 10–32°C. Under nutrient‐replete conditions, there was no adverse effect of high pCO2 on growth rates at temperatures of 10–25°C. The response of the cells to high pCO2 was similar at low and high irradiance. At supraoptimal temperatures of 30°C or higher, high pCO2 depressed growth rates at both low and high irradiance. Under nitrate‐limited conditions, cells were grown at 38 ± 2.4% of their nutrient‐saturated rates at the same temperature, irradiance, and pCO2. Dark respiration rates consistently removed a higher percentage of production under nitrate‐limited versus nutrient‐replete conditions. The percentages of production lost to dark respiration were positively correlated with temperature under nitrate‐limited conditions, but there was no analogous correlation under nutrient‐replete conditions. The results suggest that warmer temperatures and associated more intense thermal stratification of ocean surface waters could lower net photosynthetic rates if the stratification leads to a reduction in the relative growth rates of marine phytoplankton, and at truly supraoptimal temperatures there would likely be a synergistic interaction between the stresses from temperature and high pCO2 (lower pH).

Description: Primary productivity (14C) and mass flux measurements using a free-drifting sediment trap deployed at 900 m were made at four stations in the Pacific Ocean between 12°N and 6°S at 153°W. The latitudinal variations in productivity were consistent with historical patterns showing the equator as a zone of high production and the oligotrophic waters north of the equatorial region as an area of low productivity. The correlation coefficient between the two sets of independent measurements was 0.999, indicating that in this oceanic area the activity of the primary producers was closely related to the total mass flux. A re-examination of historical data suggests that the downward flux of particulate organic carbon varies in direct proportion to the quotient of surface primary production raised to the 1.4 power and depth raised to the 0.63 power.

Description: The rise of atmospheric pCO2 has created a number of problems for marine ecosystem. In this study, we initially quantified the effects of elevated pCO2 on the group-specific mortality of phytoplankton in a natural community based on the results of mesocosm experiments. Diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community, and the concentration of chlorophyll a was significantly higher in the high-pCO2 treatment than the low-pCO2 treatment. Phytoplankton mortality (percentage of dead cells) decreased during the exponential growth phase. Although the mortality of dinoflagellates did not differ significantly between the two pCO2 treatments, that of diatoms was lower in the high-pCO2 treatment. Small diatoms dominated the diatom community. Although the mortality of large diatoms did not differ significantly between the two treatments, that of small diatoms was lower in the high-pCO2 treatment. These results suggested that elevated pCO2 might enhance dominance by small diatoms and thereby change the community structure of coastal ecosystems.

Description: Shifts in phytoplankton composition and productivity are anticipated in the future, because phytoplankton are frequently bottom-up controlled, and environmental conditions, like temperature, partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), and light climate continue to change. Culture experiments revealed that whereas future (elevated) pCO2 had no effect on T. weissflogii in the absence of environmental stressors, growth rate was drastically decreased under future pCO2 if cells grew under light and temperature stress. The reduction in growth rates and a smaller decline in cellular photosynthesis under high pCO2 were associated with 2- to 3-fold increases in the production of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), in the cell quotas of organic carbon, and the chl a:C ratios. Results suggest that under light- and temperature-stressed growth, elevated pCO2 led to increased energy requirements, which were fulfilled by increased light harvesting capabilities that permitted photosynthesis of acclimatized cells to remain relatively high. This was combined with the inability of these cells to acclimatize their growth rate to sub-optimal temperatures. As a consequence, growth rate was low and decoupled from photosynthesis. This decoupling led to large cell sizes and high excretion rates in future pCO2 treatments compared to ambient treatments if growth temperature and light were sub-optimal. Under optimal growth conditions the increased energy demands required to re-equilibrate the disturbed acid-base balance in future pCO2 treatments were likely mediated by a variety of physiological acclimatization mechanisms, individually too small to show a statistically detectable response in terms of growth rate, photosynthesis, pigment concentration, or excretion.

Description: The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus was grown in a continuous culture system to study the interactive effects of temperature, irradiance, nutrient limitation, and the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) on its growth and physiological characteristics. Cells were grown on a 14:10 h light:dark cycle at all combinations of low and high irradiance (50 and 300 μmol photons/m**2/s, respectively), low and high pCO2 (400 and 1000 ppmv, respectively), nutrient limitation (nitrate-limited and nutrient-replete conditions), and temperatures of 20–45°C in 5°C increments. The maximum growth rate was ~4.5 · d−1 at 30–35°C. Under nutrient-replete conditions, growth rates at most temperatures and irradiances were about 8% slower at a pCO2 of 1000 ppmv versus 400 ppmv. The single exception was 45°C and high irradiance. Under those conditions, growth rates were ~45% higher at 1000 ppmv. Cellular carbon:nitrogen ratios were independent of temperature at a fixed relative growth rate but higher at high irradiance than at low irradiance. Initial slopes of photosynthesis–irradiance curves were higher at all temperatures under nutrient-replete versus nitrate-limited conditions; they were similar at all temperatures under high and low irradiance, except at 20°C, when they were suppressed at high irradiance. A model of phytoplankton growth in which cellular carbon was allocated to structure, storage, or the light or dark reactions of photosynthesis accounted for the general patterns of cell composition and growth rate. Allocation of carbon to the light reactions of photosynthesis was consistently higher at low versus high light and under nutrient-replete versus nitrate-limited conditions.

Description: Increases of atmospheric CO2 concentrations due to human activity and associated effects on aquatic ecosystems are recognized as an environmental issue at a global scale. Growing attention is being paid to CO2 enrichment effects under multiple stresses or fluctuating environmental conditions in order to extrapolate from laboratory-scale experiments to natural systems. We carried out a mesocosm experiment in coastal water with an assemblage of three model phytoplankton species and their associated bacteria under the influence of elevated CO2 concentrations. Net community production and the metabolic characteristics of the phytoplankton and bacteria were monitored to elucidate how these organisms responded to CO2 enrichment during the course of the algal bloom. We found that CO2 enrichment (1000 μatm) significantly enhanced gross primary production and the ratio of photosynthesis to chlorophyll a by approximately 38% and 39%, respectively, during the early stationary phase of the algal bloom. Although there were few effects on bulk bacterial production, a significant decrease of bulk bacterial respiration (up to 31%) at elevated CO2 resulted in an increase of bacterial growth efficiency. The implication is that an elevation of CO2 concentrations leads to a reduction of bacterial carbon demand and enhances carbon transfer efficiency through the microbial loop, with a greater proportion of fixed carbon being allocated to bacterial biomass and less being lost as CO2. The contemporaneous responses of phytoplankton and bacterial metabolism to CO2 enrichment increased net community production by about 45%, an increase that would have profound implications for the carbon cycle in coastal marine ecosystems.