Factors influencing the growth of Mougeotia in experimentally acidified mesocosms

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L Klug ◽  
Janet M Fischer

Acidification causes profound changes in species composition in aquatic systems. We conducted mesocosm experiments in three northern Wisconsin lakes (Trout Lake, Little Rock - Reference, Little Rock - Treatment) to test how different phytoplankton communities respond to acidification. Major differences exist among these lakes in water chemistry and phytoplankton community composition. In each lake, three pH treatments (control, press (sustained pH 4.7), and pulse (alternating pH 4.7 and ambient pH)) were maintained for 6 weeks. We observed a striking increase in species in the genus Mougeotia in all systems. Mougeotia is a filamentous green alga often found in acidified lakes. The magnitude of the Mougeotia increase differed among lakes and treatments, and we used an autoregressive model to identify potential factors responsible for these differences. Our results suggest that biotic factors such as competition with other algae played a relatively minor role in regulating Mougeotia dynamics. Instead, pH and abiotic factors associated with changes in pH (e.g., dissolved inorganic carbon) were important predictors of Mougeotia dynamics.

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3120
Author(s):  
Greta Minelgaite ◽  
Diana A. Stephansen ◽  
Márta Simon ◽  
Morten L. Fejerskov ◽  
Jes Vollertsen

This study investigated the responses of natural phytoplankton communities of an urban stormwater pond to biocide contamination. The biocides carbendazim, terbutryn, diuron, and irgarol 1051, and their mixture, were used in two laboratory microcosm and one outdoor mesocosm studies at concentrations of 10, 100, and 1000 ng L−1. The water samples were collected in a pond receiving significant biocide contamination. The mesocosm study was carried out in the same pond. The phytoplankton community response was evaluated after 10–15 days of exposure, with respect to its taxonomic composition, abundance and biovolume. No significant changes were observed in any of the experiments. Only at the highest applied terbutryn concentration were lower numbers of taxa identified in both microcosm and mesocosm experiments. Additionally, increases in Chlorophyta abundance and biovolume, along with an increase in irgarol concentration, were observed throughout the three experiments. Nevertheless, the statistical analysis did not confirm any significant differences among the biocide treatments. These results suggest that the biocide concentrations probably were below the harmful or toxic threshold to the stormwater pond phytoplankton. On the other hand, as the investigated pond phytoplankton taxa face biocide inputs throughout the year, they could have already adapted to the tested biocide contamination.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoli Shi ◽  
Xuhui Zhao ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
Zhou Yang ◽  
Ping Xu ◽  
...  

From April 2012 to January 2013 (over four seasons), in situ microcosm experiments were conducted in Lake Taihu, perturbed over a range of pCO2 scenarios (270, 380, and 750 μatm; 1 atm = 101.325 kPa). The influence of CO2 level on microcosms was greatest during the spring because of the high growth rate of phytoplankton. In this season, rising CO2 levels caused a pH reduction, and the maximum reduction was 0.6 units when CO2 level was enhanced from the present level to 750 μatm. The doubling of CO2 level could increase the net primary production (NPP) by 65% during spring when the concentrations of other nutrients were maintained. The rise of NPP could cause a decline of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration, and CO2 enrichment might mitigate the extent of this decline. Meanwhile, higher CO2 may slow or prevent a loss of diversity of phytoplankton in microcosms in this season. During the other three seasons, Microcystis predominated, and the percentage of cyanobacteria did not alter with the change of CO2. We did not observe a significant increase in the abundance of any taxa with the rise of CO2 during the in situ microcosm experiments.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1163-1177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen M. Krumhardt ◽  
Nicole S. Lovenduski ◽  
Natalie M. Freeman ◽  
Nicholas R. Bates

Abstract. As environmental conditions evolve with rapidly increasing atmospheric CO2, biological communities will change as species reorient their distributions, adapt, or alter their abundance. In the surface ocean, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) has been increasing over the past several decades as anthropogenic CO2 dissolves into seawater, causing acidification (decreases in pH and carbonate ion concentration). Calcifying phytoplankton, such as coccolithophores, are thought to be especially vulnerable to ocean acidification. How coccolithophores will respond to increasing carbon input has been a subject of much speculation and inspired numerous laboratory and mesocosm experiments, but how they are currently responding in situ is less well documented. In this study, we use coccolithophore (haptophyte) pigment data collected at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site together with satellite estimates (1998–2014) of surface chlorophyll and particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) as a proxy for coccolithophore abundance to show that coccolithophore populations in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre have been increasing significantly over the past 2 decades. Over 1990–2012, we observe a 37 % increase in euphotic zone-integrated coccolithophore pigment abundance at BATS, though we note that this is sensitive to the period being analyzed. We further demonstrate that variability in coccolithophore chlorophyll a here is positively correlated with variability in nitrate and DIC (and especially the bicarbonate ion) in the upper 30 m of the water column. Previous studies have suggested that coccolithophore photosynthesis may benefit from increasing CO2, but calcification may eventually be hindered by low pHT (< 7.7). Given that DIC has been increasing at BATS by  ∼ 1.4 µmol kg−1 yr−1 over the period of 1991–2012, we speculate that coccolithophore photosynthesis and perhaps calcification may have increased in response to anthropogenic CO2 input.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Ho Baek ◽  
Minji Lee ◽  
Bum Soo Park ◽  
Young Kyun Lim

We evaluated changes in the phytoplankton community in Korean coastal waters during October 2016 and February 2017. Typhoon Chaba introduced a large amount of freshwater into the coastal areas during autumn 2016, and there was a significant negative relationship between salinity and nutrients in the Nakdong estuarine area, particularly in the northeastern area (Zone III; p < 0.001). The abundance of diatom species, mainly Chaetoceros spp., increased after this nutrient loading, whereas Cryptomonas spp. appeared as opportunists when there was relatively low diatom biomass. During winter, biotic and abiotic factors did not differ among the surface, middle, and lower layers (p > 0.01; ANOVA), implying that water mixing by winter windstorms and low surface temperature (due to the sinking of high-density water) physically accelerated mixing of the whole water column. Diatoms predominated under these conditions. Among diatoms, the centric diatom Eucampia zodiacus remained at high density at the inshore area and its abundance had a negative correlation with water temperature, implying that this species can grow at cold temperatures. On the other hand, the harmful freshwater diatom Stephanodiscus hantzschii mainly appeared in conditions with low salinity and high nutrients, implying that it can persist even in the saltwater conditions of the Nakdong Estuary. Our results indicate that hydro-oceanographic characteristics, such as river discharge after an autumn typhoon and winter water turbulence, have major effects on the composition of phytoplankton communities and can potentially affect the occurrence and characteristics of harmful algal blooms in southern Korean coastal waters.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 18625-18660
Author(s):  
K. M. Krumhardt ◽  
N. S. Lovenduski ◽  
N. M. Freeman ◽  
N. R. Bates

Abstract. As environmental conditions evolve with rapidly increasing atmospheric CO2, biological communities will change as species reorient their distributions, adapt, or alter their abundance. In the surface ocean, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) has been increasing over the past several decades as anthropogenic CO2 dissolves into seawater, causing acidification (decreases in pH and carbonate ion concentration). Calcifying phytoplankton, such as coccolithophores, are thought to be especially vulnerable to ocean acidification. How coccolithophores will respond to increasing carbon input has been a subject of much speculation and inspired numerous laboratory and mesocosm experiments, but how they are currently responding in situ is less well documented. In this study, we use coccolithophore pigment data collected at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site together with satellite estimates (1998–2014) of surface chlorophyll and particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) to show that coccolithophore populations in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre have been increasing significantly over the past two decades. Over 1991–2012, we observe a 37 % increase in euphotic zone-integrated coccolithophore abundance at BATS. We further demonstrate that variability in coccolithophore abundance here is positively correlated with variability in DIC (and especially the bicarbonate ion) in the upper 30 m of the water column. Previous studies have suggested that coccolithophore photosynthesis may benefit from increasing CO2, but calcification may eventually be hindered by low pHT (< 7.7). Given that DIC has been increasing at BATS by ∼ 1.4 μmol kg−1 yr−1 over 1991 to 2012, we speculate that coccolithophore photosynthesis and perhaps calcification may have increased in response to anthropogenic CO2 input.


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2155-2163 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Gray

Differences between nearshore and offshore phytoplankton biomass and composition were evident in Lake Ontario in 1982. Phytoplankton biomass was characterized by multiple peaks which ranged over three orders of magnitude. Perhaps as a consequence of the three times higher current velocities at the northshore station, phytoplankton biomass ranged from 0.09 to 9.00 g∙m−3 compared with 0.10 to 2.40 g∙m−3 for the midlake station. Bacillariophyceae was the dominant group at the northshore station until September when Cyanophyta contributed most to the biomass (83%). Although Bacillariophyceae was the principal component of the spring phytoplankton community at the midlake station, phytoflagellates (49%) and Chlorophyceae (25%) were responsible for summer biomass, with the Chlorophyceae expanding to 80% in the fall. The seasonal pattern of epilimnetic chlorophyll a correlated with temperature. While chlorophyll a concentrations were similar to values from 1970 and 1972, algal biomass had declined and a number of eutrophic species (Melosira binderana, Stephanodiscus tenuis, S. hantzschii var. pusilla, and S. alpinus) previously found were absent in 1982.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Alexia D. Saint-Macary ◽  
Neill Barr ◽  
Evelyn Armstrong ◽  
Karl Safi ◽  
Andrew Marriner ◽  
...  

The cycling of the trace gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) may be affected by future ocean acidification and warming. DMSP and DMS concentrations were monitored over 20-days in four mesocosm experiments in which the temperature and pH of coastal water were manipulated to projected values for the year 2100 and 2150. This had no effect on DMSP in the two-initial nutrient-depleted experiments; however, in the two nutrient-amended experiments, warmer temperature combined with lower pH had a more significant effect on DMSP & DMS concentrations than lower pH alone. Overall, this indicates that future warming may have greater influence on DMS production than ocean acidification. The observed reduction in DMSP at warmer temperatures was associated with changes in phytoplankton community and in particular with small flagellate biomass. A small decrease in DMS concentration was measured in the treatments relative to other studies, from −2% in the nutrient-amended low pH treatment to −16% in the year 2150 pH and temperature conditions. Temporal variation was also observed with DMS concentration increasing earlier in the higher temperature treatment. Nutrient availability and community composition should be considered in models of future DMS.


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