Description: The effects of ocean acidification on the life-cycle stages of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi and their modulation by light were examined. Calcifying diploid and noncalcifying haploid cells (Roscoff culture collection strains 1216 and 1217) were acclimated to present-day and elevated CO2 partial pressures (PCO2; 38.5 vs. 101.3 Pa, i.e., 380 vs. 1000 µatm) under low and high light (50 vs. 300 µmol photons m-2 s-1). Growth rates as well as cellular quotas and production rates of C and N were measured. Sources of inorganic C for biomass buildup were determined using a 14C disequilibrium assay. Photosynthetic O2 evolution was measured as a function of dissolved inorganic C and light by means of membrane-inlet mass spectrometry. The diploid stage responded to elevated PCO2 by shunting resources from the production of particulate inorganic C toward organic C yet keeping the production of total particulate C constant. As the effect of ocean acidification was stronger under low light, the diploid stage might be less affected by increased acidity when energy availability is high. The haploid stage maintained elemental composition and production rates under elevated PCO2. Although both life-cycle stages involve different ways of dealing with elevated PCO2, the responses were generally modulated by energy availability, being typically most pronounced under low light. Additionally, PCO2 responses resembled those induced by high irradiances, indicating that ocean acidification affects the interplay between energy-generating processes (photosynthetic light reactions) and processes competing for energy (biomass buildup and calcification). A conceptual model is put forward explaining why the magnitude of single responses is determined by energy availability.

Description: We assessed the responses of solitary cells of Arctic Phaeocystis pouchetii grown under a matrix of temperature (2°C vs. 6°C), light intensity (55 vs. 160 μmol photons m-2 s-1) and pCO2 (400 vs. 1000 μatm). Next to acclimation parameters (growth rates, particulate and dissolved organic C and N, chlorophyll a content), we measured physiological processes in-vivo (electron transport rates and net photosynthesis) using fast-repetition rate fluorometry and membrane-inlet mass spectrometry. Within the applied driver ranges, elevated temperature had the most pronounced impacts, significantly increasing growth, elemental quotas and photosynthetic performance. Light stimulations manifested prominently under high temperature, underlining its role as a 'master variable'. pCO2 was the least effective driver, exerting mostly insignificant effects. The obtained data were used in a simplified ecosystem model to simulate P. pouchetii's bloom dynamics in the Fram Strait with increasing temperatures over the 21st century. Model results suggest that global warming will accelerate bloom dynamics, with earlier onsets of blooms and higher peak biomasses. Despite remaining uncertainties about the magnitude of these effects, data strongly suggest that increasing temperatures over the coming century will affect the phenology of Phaeocystis and other Arctic phytoplankton with likely important implications for higher trophic levels.