scholarly journals Ocean acidification of a coastal Antarctic marine microbial community reveals a critical threshold for CO<sub>2</sub> tolerance in phytoplankton productivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy Deppeler ◽  
Katherina Petrou ◽  
Kai G. Schulz ◽  
Karen Westwood ◽  
Imojen Pearce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Bacterial Abundance ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Bacterial Productivity ◽  
High Co2 ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Antarctic Marine

Abstract. High-latitude oceans are anticipated to be some of the first regions affected by ocean acidification. Despite this, the effect of ocean acidification on natural communities of Antarctic marine microbes is still not well understood. In this study we exposed an early spring, coastal marine microbial community in Prydz Bay to CO2 levels ranging from ambient (343 µatm) to 1641 µatm in six 650 L minicosms. Productivity assays were performed to identify whether a CO2 threshold existed that led to a change in primary productivity, bacterial productivity, and the accumulation of chlorophyll a (Chl a) and particulate organic matter (POM) in the minicosms. In addition, photophysiological measurements were performed to identify possible mechanisms driving changes in the phytoplankton community. A critical threshold for tolerance to ocean acidification was identified in the phytoplankton community between 953 and 1140 µatm. CO2 levels  ≥ 1140 µatm negatively affected photosynthetic performance and Chl a-normalised primary productivity (csGPP14C), causing significant reductions in gross primary production (GPP14C), Chl a accumulation, nutrient uptake, and POM production. However, there was no effect of CO2 on C : N ratios. Over time, the phytoplankton community acclimated to high CO2 conditions, showing a down-regulation of carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) and likely adjusting other intracellular processes. Bacterial abundance initially increased in CO2 treatments  ≥ 953 µatm (days 3–5), yet gross bacterial production (GBP14C) remained unchanged and cell-specific bacterial productivity (csBP14C) was reduced. Towards the end of the experiment, GBP14C and csBP14C markedly increased across all treatments regardless of CO2 availability. This coincided with increased organic matter availability (POC and PON) combined with improved efficiency of carbon uptake. Changes in phytoplankton community production could have negative effects on the Antarctic food web and the biological pump, resulting in negative feedbacks on anthropogenic CO2 uptake. Increases in bacterial abundance under high CO2 conditions may also increase the efficiency of the microbial loop, resulting in increased organic matter remineralisation and further declines in carbon sequestration.

scholarly journals Ocean acidification of a coastal Antarctic marine microbial community reveals a critical threshold for CO<sub>2</sub> tolerance in phytoplankton productivity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy Deppeler ◽  
Katherina Petrou ◽  
Kai G. Schulz ◽  
Karen Westwood ◽  
Imojen Pearce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Bacterial Abundance ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Bacterial Productivity ◽  
High Co2 ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Antarctic Marine

Abstract. High-latitude oceans are anticipated to be some of the first regions affected by ocean acidification. Despite this, the effect of ocean acidification on natural communities of Antarctic marine microbes is still not well understood. In this study we exposed an early spring, coastal marine microbial community in Prydz Bay to CO2 levels ranging from ambient (343 μatm) to 1641 μatm in six 650 l minicosms. Productivity assays were performed to identify whether a CO2 threshold existed that led to a decline in primary productivity, bacterial productivity, and the accumulation of Chlorophyll a (Chl a) and particulate organic matter (POM) in the minicosms. In addition, photophysiological measurements were performed to identify possible mechanisms driving changes in the phytoplankton community. A critical threshold for tolerance to ocean acidification was identified in the phytoplankton community between 953 and 1140 μatm. CO2 levels ≥ 1140 μatm negatively affected photosynthetic performance and Chl a-normalised primary productivity (csPP14C), causing significant reductions in gross primary production (GPP14C), Chl a accumulation, nutrient uptake, and POM production. However, there was no effect of CO2 on C : N ratios. Over time, the phytoplankton community acclimated to high CO2 conditions, showing a down-regulation of carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) and likely adjusting other intracellular processes. Bacterial abundance initially increased in CO2 treatments ≥ 953 μatm (days 3–5), yet gross bacterial production (GBP14C) remained unchanged and cell-specific bacterial productivity (csBP14C) was reduced. Towards the end of experiment, GBP14C and csBP14C markedly increased across all treatments regardless of CO2 availability. This coincided with increased organic matter availability (POC and PON) combined with improved efficiency of carbon uptake. Such changes in phytoplankton community production could have negative effects on the Antarctic food web and the biological pump, resulting in negative feedbacks on anthropogenic CO2 uptake. Increases in bacterial abundance under high CO2 conditions may also increase the efficiency of the microbial loop, resulting in increased organic matter remineralisation and further declines in carbon sequestration.

Empirical Relationships between Bacterial Abundance and Chlorophyll Concentration in Fresh and Marine Waters

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 1015-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Bird ◽  
J. Kalff
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Abundance ◽  
Regression Line ◽  
Empirical Relationship ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentration ◽  
Bacterial Biomass ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Bacterial Productivity ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
Lake Metabolism ◽  
Chl A

A strong, positive empirical relationship was found between bacterial abundance and chlorophyll concentration in fresh and marine waters. Freshwater and marine linear regression equations are statistically indistinguishable. The overall equation is log AODC = 5.867 + 0.776 log chl a, r2 = 0.88, where AODC (acridine orange direct count) is the number of bacteria per millilitre and chl a is micrograms of chlorophyll a per litre. It is apparent that planktonic bacteria and algae are tightly linked in lakes and the sea. The slope of the regression line, however, shows that bacterial numbers do not increase as rapidly as algal biomass with an increase in nutrient concentration. We suggest that this disproportionately smaller increase in bacterial numbers need not signify a smaller role for bacteria in lake metabolism with increasing nutrient availability, if bacterial productivity per unit bacterial biomass increases as total bacterial biomass increases between systems.

scholarly journals Assessing approaches to determine the effect of ocean acidification on bacterial processes

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 4379-4388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Burrell ◽  
Elizabeth W. Maas ◽  
Paul Teesdale-Spittle ◽  
Cliff S. Law
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Bacterial Growth ◽  
Extracellular Enzymes ◽  
Bacterial Abundance ◽  
Aminopeptidase Activity ◽  
Labile Organic Matter ◽  
Fluorescent Substrate ◽  
Co2 Gas ◽  
Carbohydrate Degradation

Abstract. Bacterial extracellular enzymes play a significant role in the degradation of labile organic matter and nutrient availability in the open ocean. Although bacterial production and extracellular enzymes may be affected by ocean acidification, few studies to date have considered the methodology used to measure enzyme activity and bacterial processes. This study investigated the potential artefacts in determining the response of bacterial growth and extracellular glucosidase and aminopeptidase activity to ocean acidification as well as the relative effects of three different acidification techniques. Tests confirmed that the observed effect of pH on fluorescence of artificial fluorophores, and the influence of the MCA fluorescent substrate on seawater sample pH, were both overcome by the use of Tris buffer. In experiments testing different acidification methods, bubbling with CO2 gas mixtures resulted in higher β-glucosidase activity and 15–40 % higher bacterial abundance, relative to acidification via gas-permeable silicon tubing and acid addition (HCl). Bubbling may stimulate carbohydrate degradation and bacterial growth, leading to the incorrect interpretation of the impacts of ocean acidification on organic matter cycling.

scholarly journals Impacts of Seagrass on Benthic Microalgae and Phytoplankton Communities in an Experimentally Warmed Coral Reef Mesocosm

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwee Siong Tew ◽  
Jimmy Kuo ◽  
Jing-O Cheng ◽  
Fung-Chi Ko ◽  
Pei-Jie Meng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Benthic Microalgae ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Partial Pressures ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Symbiotic Dinoflagellates ◽  
Microalgal Community

The effects of seagrass on microalgal assemblages under experimentally elevated temperatures (28°C) and CO2 partial pressures (pCO2; 800 μatm) were examined using coral reef mesocosms. Concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, and benthic microalgal chlorophyll a (chl-a) were significantly higher in seagrass mesocosms, whereas phytoplankton chl-a concentrations were similar between seagrass and seagrass-free control mesocosms. In the seagrass group, fewer parasitic dinoflagellate OTUs (e.g., Syndiniales) were found in the benthic microalgal community though more symbiotic dinoflagellates (e.g., Cladocopium spp.) were quantified in the phytoplankton community. Our results suggest that, under ocean acidification conditions, the presence of seagrass nearby coral reefs may (1) enhance benthic primary productivity, (2) decrease parasitic dinoflagellate abundance, and (3) possibly increase the presence of symbiotic dinoflagellates.

scholarly journals Assessing approaches to determine the effect of ocean acidification on bacterial processes

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim J. Burrell ◽  
Elizabeth W. Maas ◽  
Paul Teesdale-Spittle ◽  
Cliff S. Law
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Extracellular Enzymes ◽  
Bacterial Abundance ◽  
Labile Organic Matter ◽  
Fluorescent Substrate ◽  
Co2 Gas ◽  
Carbohydrate Degradation ◽  
Seawater Ph ◽  
Silicon Tubing

Abstract. Bacterial extracellular enzymes play a significant role in the degradation of labile organic matter and nutrient availability in the open ocean. Although bacterial production and extracellular enzymes may be affected by ocean acidification, few studies to date have considered the methodology used to measure enzyme activity and bacterial processes. This study investigated the potential artefacts in determining the response of bacterial extracellular glucosidase and aminopeptidase to ocean acidification, and the relative effects of three different acidification techniques. Tests confirmed that the fluorescence of the artificial fluorophores was affected by pH, and that addition of MCA fluorescent substrate alters seawater pH. In experiments testing different acidification methods, bubbling with CO2 gas mixtures resulted in higher β-glucosidase activity relative to acidification by their introduction via gas-permeable silicon tubing, or by acid addition (HCl). In addition, bacterial numbers were 15–40 % higher with bubbling relative to seawater acidified with gas-permeable silicon tubing and HCl. Bubbling may lead to overestimation of carbohydrate degradation and bacterial abundance, and consequently incorrect interpretation of the impacts of ocean acidification on organic matter cycling.

scholarly journals The Influence of Ocean Acidification and Warming on DMSP & DMS in New Zealand Coastal Water

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Alexia D. Saint-Macary ◽  
Neill Barr ◽  
Evelyn Armstrong ◽  
Karl Safi ◽  
Andrew Marriner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Coastal Water ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Dimethyl Sulfide ◽  
Temperature Treatment ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Trace Gas ◽  
Mesocosm Experiments ◽  
Future Warming ◽  
Higher Temperature

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.

scholarly journals Particle export fluxes to the oxygen minimum zone of the eastern tropical North Atlantic

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1825-1838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Engel ◽  
Hannes Wagner ◽  
Frédéric A. C. Le Moigne ◽  
Samuel T. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Organic Phosphorus ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Carbon Export ◽  
Organic Matter Quality ◽  
B Values ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Tropical North Atlantic ◽  
Particle Export

Abstract. In the ocean, sinking of particulate organic matter (POM) drives carbon export from the euphotic zone and supplies nutrition to mesopelagic communities, the feeding and degradation activities of which in turn lead to export flux attenuation. Oxygen (O2) minimum zones (OMZs) with suboxic water layers (< 5 µmol O2 kg−1) show a lower carbon flux attenuation compared to well-oxygenated waters (> 100 µmol O2 kg−1), supposedly due to reduced heterotrophic activity. This study focuses on sinking particle fluxes through hypoxic mesopelagic waters (< 60 µmol O2 kg−1); these represent  ∼  100 times more ocean volume globally compared to suboxic waters, but they have less been studied. Particle export fluxes and attenuation coefficients were determined in the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA) using two surface-tethered drifting sediment trap arrays with seven trapping depths located between 100 and 600 m. Data on particulate matter fluxes were fitted to the normalized power function Fz =  F100 (z∕100)−b, with F100 being the flux at a depth (z) of 100 m and b being the attenuation coefficient. Higher b values suggest stronger flux attenuation and are influenced by factors such as faster degradation at higher temperatures. In this study, b values of organic carbon fluxes varied between 0.74 and 0.80 and were in the intermediate range of previous reports, but lower than expected from seawater temperatures within the upper 500 m. During this study, highest b values were determined for fluxes of particulate hydrolyzable amino acids (PHAA), followed by particulate organic phosphorus (POP), nitrogen (PN), carbon (POC), chlorophyll a (Chl a) and transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), pointing to a sequential degradation of organic matter components during sinking. Our study suggests that in addition to O2 concentration, organic matter composition co-determines transfer efficiency through the mesopelagic. The magnitude of future carbon export fluxes may therefore also depend on how organic matter quality in the surface ocean changes under influence of warming, acidification and enhanced stratification.

scholarly journals Programmed cell death in diazotrophs and the fate of organic matter in the western tropical South Pacific Ocean during the OUTPACE cruise

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 3893-3908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Spungin ◽  
Natalia Belkin ◽  
Rachel A. Foster ◽  
Marcus Stenegren ◽  
Andrea Caputo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Programmed Cell Death ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Vertical Flux ◽  
Filamentous Cyanobacterium ◽  
Chl A ◽  
South Pacific Ocean

Abstract. The fate of diazotroph (N2 fixers) derived carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and their contribution to vertical export of C and N in the western tropical South Pacific Ocean was studied during OUTPACE (Oligotrophy to UlTra-oligotrophy PACific Experiment). Our specific objective during OUTPACE was to determine whether autocatalytic programmed cell death (PCD), occurring in some diazotrophs, is an important mechanism affecting diazotroph mortality and a factor regulating the vertical flux of organic matter and, thus, the fate of the blooms. We sampled at three long duration (LD) stations of 5 days each (LDA, LDB and LDC) where drifting sediment traps were deployed at 150, 325 and 500 m depth. LDA and LDB were characterized by high chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations (0.2–0.6 µg L−1) and dominated by dense biomass of the filamentous cyanobacterium Trichodesmium as well as UCYN-B and diatom–diazotroph associations (Rhizosolenia with Richelia-detected by microscopy and het-1 nifH copies). Station LDC was located at an ultra-oligotrophic area of the South Pacific gyre with extremely low Chl a concentration (∼ 0.02 µg L−1) with limited biomass of diazotrophs predominantly the unicellular UCYN-B. Our measurements of biomass from LDA and LDB yielded high activities of caspase-like and metacaspase proteases that are indicative of PCD in Trichodesmium and other phytoplankton. Metacaspase activity, reported here for the first time from oceanic populations, was highest at the surface of both LDA and LDB, where we also obtained high concentrations of transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP). TEP were negatively correlated with dissolved inorganic phosphorus and positively coupled to both the dissolved and particulate organic carbon pools. Our results reflect the increase in TEP production under nutrient stress and its role as a source of sticky carbon facilitating aggregation and rapid vertical sinking. Evidence for bloom decline was observed at both LDA and LDB. However, the physiological status and rates of decline of the blooms differed between the stations, influencing the amount of accumulated diazotrophic organic matter and mass flux observed in the traps during our experimental time frame. At LDA sediment traps contained the greatest export of particulate matter and significant numbers of both intact and decaying Trichodesmium, UCYN-B and het-1 compared to LDB where the bloom decline began only 2 days prior to leaving the station and to LDC where no evidence for bloom or bloom decline was seen. Substantiating previous findings from laboratory cultures linking PCD to carbon export in Trichodesmium, our results from OUTPACE indicate that nutrient limitation may induce PCD in high biomass blooms such as displayed by Trichodesmium or diatom–diazotroph associations. Furthermore, PCD combined with high TEP production will tend to facilitate cellular aggregation and bloom termination and will expedite vertical flux to depth.

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