Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors
Predicting the effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on coastal ecosystems requires an understanding of the responses of algae, since these are a vital functional component of shallow-water habitats. We investigated microphytobenthic assemblages on rock and sandy habitats along a shallow subtidal p...
Published in: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3041425 https://doaj.org/article/610872b55193499d930f845c1761c400 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:610872b55193499d930f845c1761c400 2023-05-15T17:50:28+02:00 Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors Vivienne R. Johnson Colin Brownlee Marco Milazzo Jason M. Hall-Spencer 2015-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3041425 https://doaj.org/article/610872b55193499d930f845c1761c400 EN eng MDPI AG http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/3/4/1425 https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1312 2077-1312 doi:10.3390/jmse3041425 https://doaj.org/article/610872b55193499d930f845c1761c400 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol 3, Iss 4, Pp 1425-1447 (2015) cyanobacteria diatoms Mediterranean microphytobenthos ocean acidification multiple stressors Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3041425 2022-12-31T06:51:35Z Predicting the effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on coastal ecosystems requires an understanding of the responses of algae, since these are a vital functional component of shallow-water habitats. We investigated microphytobenthic assemblages on rock and sandy habitats along a shallow subtidal pCO2 gradient near volcanic seeps in the Mediterranean Sea. Field studies of natural pCO2 gradients help us understand the likely effects of ocean acidification because entire communities are subjected to a realistic suite of environmental stressors such as over-fishing and coastal pollution. Temperature, total alkalinity, salinity, light levels and sediment properties were similar at our study sites. On sand and on rock, benthic diatom abundance and the photosynthetic standing crop of biofilms increased significantly with increasing pCO2. There were also marked shifts in diatom community composition as pCO2 levels increased. Cyanobacterial abundance was only elevated at extremely high levels of pCO2 (>1400 μatm). This is the first demonstration of the tolerance of natural marine benthic microalgae assemblages to elevated CO2 in an ecosystem subjected to multiple environmental stressors. Our observations indicate that Mediterranean coastal systems will alter as pCO2 levels continue to rise, with increased photosynthetic standing crop and taxonomic shifts in microalgal assemblages. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 3 4 1425 1447 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
cyanobacteria diatoms Mediterranean microphytobenthos ocean acidification multiple stressors Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
cyanobacteria diatoms Mediterranean microphytobenthos ocean acidification multiple stressors Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 Vivienne R. Johnson Colin Brownlee Marco Milazzo Jason M. Hall-Spencer Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors |
topic_facet |
cyanobacteria diatoms Mediterranean microphytobenthos ocean acidification multiple stressors Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Predicting the effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on coastal ecosystems requires an understanding of the responses of algae, since these are a vital functional component of shallow-water habitats. We investigated microphytobenthic assemblages on rock and sandy habitats along a shallow subtidal pCO2 gradient near volcanic seeps in the Mediterranean Sea. Field studies of natural pCO2 gradients help us understand the likely effects of ocean acidification because entire communities are subjected to a realistic suite of environmental stressors such as over-fishing and coastal pollution. Temperature, total alkalinity, salinity, light levels and sediment properties were similar at our study sites. On sand and on rock, benthic diatom abundance and the photosynthetic standing crop of biofilms increased significantly with increasing pCO2. There were also marked shifts in diatom community composition as pCO2 levels increased. Cyanobacterial abundance was only elevated at extremely high levels of pCO2 (>1400 μatm). This is the first demonstration of the tolerance of natural marine benthic microalgae assemblages to elevated CO2 in an ecosystem subjected to multiple environmental stressors. Our observations indicate that Mediterranean coastal systems will alter as pCO2 levels continue to rise, with increased photosynthetic standing crop and taxonomic shifts in microalgal assemblages. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vivienne R. Johnson Colin Brownlee Marco Milazzo Jason M. Hall-Spencer |
author_facet |
Vivienne R. Johnson Colin Brownlee Marco Milazzo Jason M. Hall-Spencer |
author_sort |
Vivienne R. Johnson |
title |
Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors |
title_short |
Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors |
title_full |
Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors |
title_fullStr |
Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors |
title_sort |
marine microphytobenthic assemblage shift along a natural shallow-water co2 gradient subjected to multiple environmental stressors |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3041425 https://doaj.org/article/610872b55193499d930f845c1761c400 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol 3, Iss 4, Pp 1425-1447 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/3/4/1425 https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1312 2077-1312 doi:10.3390/jmse3041425 https://doaj.org/article/610872b55193499d930f845c1761c400 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3041425 |
container_title |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1425 |
op_container_end_page |
1447 |
_version_ |
1766157227531436032 |