Description: A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of rising fCO2 on the build-up and decline of organic matter during coastal phytoplankton blooms. Five mesocosms (∼38 m³ each) were deployed in the Baltic Sea during spring (2009) and enriched with CO2 to yield a gradient of 355–862 µatm. Mesocosms were nutrient fertilized initially to induce phytoplankton bloom development. Changes in particulate and dissolved organic matter concentrations, including dissolved high-molecular weight (〉1 kDa) combined carbohydrates, dissolved free and combined amino acids as well as transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), were monitored over 21 days together with bacterial abundance, and hydrolytic extracellular enzyme activities. Overall, organic matter followed well-known bloom dynamics in all CO2 treatments alike. At high fCO2, higher ΔPOC:ΔPON during bloom rise, and higher TEP concentrations during bloom peak, suggested preferential accumulation of carbon-rich components. TEP concentration at bloom peak was significantly related to subsequent sedimentation of particulate organic matter. Bacterial abundance increased during the bloom and was highest at high fCO2. We conclude that increasing fCO2 supports production and exudation of carbon-rich components, enhancing particle aggregation and settling, but also providing substrate and attachment sites for bacteria. More labile organic carbon and higher bacterial abundance can increase rates of oxygen consumption and may intensify the already high risk of oxygen depletion in coastal seas in the future.

Description: In this pilot study, we describe a high-pressure incubation system allowing multiple subsampling of a pressurized culture without decompression. The system was tested using one piezophilic (Photobacterium profundum), one piezotolerant (Colwellia maris) bacterial strain and a decompressed sample from the Mediterranean deep sea (3044 m) determining bacterial community composition, protein production (BPP) and cell multiplication rates (BCM) up to 27 MPa. The results showed elevation of BPP at high pressure was by a factor of 1.5 ± 1.4 and 3.9 ± 2.3 for P. profundum and C. maris, respectively, compared to ambient-pressure treatments and by a factor of 6.9 ± 3.8 fold in the field samples. In P. profundum and C. maris, BCM at high pressure was elevated (3.1 ± 1.5 and 2.9 ± 1.7 fold, respectively) compared to the ambient-pressure treatments. After 3 days of incubation at 27 MPa, the natural bacterial deep-sea community was dominated by one phylum of the genus Exiguobacterium, indicating the rapid selection of piezotolerant bacteria. In future studies, our novel incubation system could be part of an isopiestic pressure chain, allowing more accurate measurement of bacterial activity rates which is important both for modeling and for predicting the efficiency of the oceanic carbon pump.

Description: The effect of phytoplankton on the other compartments of a simple microbial loop consisting of dissolved matter, bacteria and nanoflagellates was investigated in three 1000 l mesocosms. These mesocosms were inoculated with a natural bacterial community and (1) no other additions (No Addition tank), (2) Phaeocystis globosa (Phaeocystis tank), or (3) 2 diatom species (Diatom tank). During the 20 d experiment, autotrophic activity was negligible in the No Addition tank. In contrast a small P. globosa bloom developed in the Phaeocystis tank and a large diatom bloom dominated the Diatom tank. In this paper we describe the experiment, the changes in chlorophyll a and heterotrophic nanoflagellate concentrations, as well as the cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica. Then we provide a synthesis of the structure and functioning of the microbial loops in these 3 systems using cluster analysis, a statistical pattern recognition tool. The goal was to test the hypothesis that differences in the resident phytoplankton populations would be reflected in (1) the composition and concentration of dissolved organic matter, (2) the composition of the bacterial community, (3) the food web, and (4) the cycling of elements and organic matter. In all 3 mesocosms, nitrate and silicic acid remained abundant. Orthophosphate was preferred by diatoms, whereas Phaeocystis appeared to prefer dissolved organic phosphorus. The hypothesis that phytoplankton composition shapes the structure and functioning of the microbial loop was partially supported: 6 d after inoculation each mesocosm exhibited a distinct organic matter signature. After 10 to 12 d, concentrations of heterotrophic nanoflagellates were high enough to exert significant grazing pressure in all 3 mesocosms. A parallel shift in bacterial community composition was visible in all mesocosms at this time, possibly reflecting grazing pressure. The food-web structure developed divergently in the 3 mesocosms during the second half of the experiment. Differences in biochemical cycling between mesocosms were predominantly driven by the large quantitative differences in autotrophs.

Description: Heterocystous cyanobacteria of the genus Nodularia form extensive blooms in the Baltic Sea and contribute substantially to the total annual primary production. Moreover, they dispense a large fraction of new nitrogen to the ecosystem when inorganic nitrogen concentration in summer is low. Thus, it is of ecological importance to know how Nodularia will react to future environmental changes, in particular to increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and what consequences there might arise for cycling of organic matter in the Baltic Sea. Here, we determined carbon (C) and dinitrogen (N2) fixation rates, growth, elemental stoichiometry of particulate organic matter and nitrogen turnover in batch cultures of the heterocystous cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena under low (median 315 μatm), mid (median 353 μatm), and high (median 548 μatm) CO2 concentrations. Our results demonstrate an overall stimulating effect of rising pCO2 on C and N2 fixation, as well as on cell growth. An increase in pCO2 during incubation days 0 to 9 resulted in an elevation in growth rate by 84 ± 38% (low vs. high pCO2) and 40 ± 25% (mid vs. high pCO2), as well as in N2 fixation by 93 ± 35% and 38 ± 1%, respectively. C uptake rates showed high standard deviations within treatments and in between sampling days. Nevertheless, C fixation in the high pCO2 treatment was elevated compared to the other two treatments by 97% (high vs. low) and 44% (high vs. mid) at day 0 and day 3, but this effect diminished afterwards. Additionally, elevation in carbon to nitrogen and nitrogen to phosphorus ratios of the particulate biomass formed (POC : POP and PON : POP) was observed at high pCO2. Our findings suggest that rising pCO2 stimulates the growth of heterocystous diazotrophic cyanobacteria, in a similar way as reported for the non-heterocystous diazotroph Trichodesmium. Implications for biogeochemical cycling and food web dynamics, as well as ecological and socio-economical aspects in the Baltic Sea are discussed.

Description: Studies investigating the effect of increasing CO2 levels on the phosphorus cycle in natural waters are lacking although phosphorus often controls phytoplankton development in aquatic systems. The aim of our study was to analyze effects of elevated CO2 levels on phosphorus pool sizes and uptake. Therefore, we conducted a CO2-manipulation mesocosm experiment in the Storfjärden (western Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea) in summer 2012. We compared the phosphorus dynamics in different mesocosm treatments but also studied them outside the mesocosms in the surrounding fjord water. In the mesocosms as well as in surface waters of Storfjärden, dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) concentrations of 0.26 ± 0.03 and 0.23 ± 0.04 μmol L−1, respectively, formed the main fraction of the total P-pool (TP), whereas phosphate (PO4) constituted the lowest fraction with mean concentration of 0.15 ± 0.02 μmol L−1 and 0.17 ± 0.07 μmol L−1 in the mesocosms and in the fjord, respectively. Uptake of PO4 ranged between 0.6 and 3.9 nmol L−1 h−1 of which ~ 86 % (mesocosms) and ~ 72 % (fjord) were realized by the size fraction 〈 3 μm. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) uptake revealed that additional P was supplied from organic compounds accounting for 25–27 % of P provided by PO4 only. CO2 additions did not cause significant changes in phosphorus (P) pool sizes, DOP composition, and uptake of PO4 and ATP when the whole study period was taken into account. About 18 % of PO4 was transformed into POP, whereby the major proportion (~ 82 %) was converted into DOP suggesting that the conversion of PO4 to DOP is the main pathway of the PO4 turnover. We observed that significant relationships (e.g., between POP and Chl a) in the untreated mesocosms vanished under increased fCO2 conditions. Consequently, it can be hypothesized that the relationship between POP formation and phytoplankton growth changed under elevated CO2 conditions. Significant short-term effects were observed for PO4 and particulate organic phosphorus (POP) pool sizes in CO2 treatments 〉 1000 μatm during periods when phytoplankton started to grow.