Publication Date:
2024-03-12
Description:
〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) availability and the divergent requirements of phytoplankton species were recently shown to be potential important drivers of Southern Ocean community composition. Knowledge about Antarctic phytoplankton species requirements for Fe and Mn remains, however, scarce. By performing laboratory experiments and additional calculations of the photosynthetic electron transport, we investigated the response of the ecologically important species 〈italic toggle="no"〉Phaeocystis antarctica〈/italic〉 under a combination of different Fe and Mn concentrations. Fe deprivation alone provoked typical physiological characteristics of Fe limitation in 〈italic toggle="no"〉P. antarctica〈/italic〉 (e.g., lowered growth and photosynthetic efficiency). In comparison, under Mn deprivation alone, the growth and carbon production of 〈italic toggle="no"〉P. antarctica〈/italic〉 were not impacted. Its tolerance to cope with low Mn concentrations resulted from an efficient photoacclimation strategy, including a higher number of active photosystems II through which fewer electrons were transported. This strategy allowed us to maintain similar high growth and carbon production rates as FeMn‐enriched cells. Due to its low Mn requirement, 〈italic toggle="no"〉P. antarctica〈/italic〉 performed physiologically as Fe‐deprived cells under the combined depletion of Fe and Mn. Hence, our study reveals that different from other Southern Ocean phytoplankton species, 〈italic toggle="no"〉P. antarctica〈/italic〉 possesses a high capacity to cope with natural low Mn concentrations, which can facilitate its dominance over others, potentially explaining its ecological success across the Southern Ocean.〈/p〉
Description:
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659
Description:
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.944462
Keywords:
ddc:577.7
;
Southern Ocean
;
Antarctic phytoplankton
;
Trace metal
;
photophysiology
;
carbon fixation
Language:
English
Type:
doc-type:article
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