Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Coccolithophores are a calcifying unicellular phytoplankton group that are at the base of the marine food web, and their lipid content provides a source of energy to consumers. Coccolithophores are vulnerable to ocean acidification and warming, therefore it is critical to establish the effects of climate change on these significant marine primary producers, and determine potential consequences that these changes can have on their consumers. Here, we quantified the impact of changes in pH and temperature on the nutritional condition (lipid content, particulate organic carbon/nitrogen), growth rate, and morphology of the most abundant living coccolithophore species, Emiliania huxleyi. We used a regression type approach with nine pH levels (ranging from 7.66 to 8.44) and two temperatures (15°C and 20°C). Lipid production was greater under reduced pH, and growth rates were distinctly lower at 15°C than at 20°C. The production potential of lipids, which estimates the availability of lipids to consumers, increased under 20°C, but decreased under low pH. The results indicate that, while consumers will benefit energetically under ocean warming, this benefit will be mitigated by ocean acidification. The carbon to nitrogen ratio was higher at 20°C and low pH, indicating that the nutritional quality of coccolithophores for consumers will decline under climate change. The impact of low pH on the structural integrity of the coccosphere may also mean that coccolithophores are easier to digest for consumers. Many responses suggest cellular stress, indicating that increases in temperature and reductions in pH may have a negative impact on the ecophysiology of coccolithophores.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard deviation; Aragonite saturation state; Bicarbonate ion; Biomass/Abundance/Elemental composition; Bottles or small containers/Aquaria (〈20 L); Calcification/Dissolution; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon, inorganic, particulate, per cell; Carbon, inorganic, particulate, standard deviation; Carbon, organic, particulate, per cell; Carbon, organic, particulate, standard deviation; Carbon, organic, particulate/Nitrogen, particulate ratio; Carbon, organic, particulate/Nitrogen, particulate ratio, standard deviation; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Cellular lipid quota/cellular particulate organic carbon quota; Cellular lipid quota/cellular particulate organic carbon quota, standard deviation; Chlorophyll a, production, standard deviation; Chlorophyll a, standard deviation; Chlorophyll a per cell; Chlorophyll a production per cell; Chromista; Coccosphere, diameter; Coccosphere, diameter, standard deviation; Coccospheres; Diameter; Diameter, standard deviation; Distal shield, length; Distal shield, length, standard deviation; Distal shield, width; Distal shield, width, standard deviation; Emiliania huxleyi; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Growth/Morphology; Growth rate; Growth rate, standard deviation; Haptophyta; Laboratory experiment; Laboratory strains; Lipid production per cell; Lipid production per cell, standard deviation; Lipids, standard deviation; Lipids per cell; Not applicable; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Particulate inorganic carbon, production, standard deviation; Particulate inorganic carbon/particulate organic carbon ratio; Particulate inorganic carbon/particulate organic carbon ratio, standard deviation; Particulate inorganic carbon/total particulate nitrogen ratio; Particulate inorganic carbon/total particulate nitrogen ratio, standard deviation; Particulate inorganic carbon production per cell; Particulate organic carbon, production, standard deviation; Particulate organic carbon production per cell; Pelagos; pH; Phytoplankton; Primary production/Photosynthesis; Salinity; Single species; Species, unique identification; Species, unique identification (Semantic URI); Species, unique identification (URI); Temperature; Temperature, water; Type; Width; Width, standard deviation
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 979 data points
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