Ecological niches of open ocean phytoplankton taxa

• Published in: Limnology and Oceanography
• Main Authors: Brun, Philipp, Vogt, Meike, Payne, Mark, R, Gruber, Nicolas, O 'Brien, Colleen, J, Buitenhuis, Erik, Le Quéré, Corinne, Leblanc, Karine, Luo, Ya-Wei
• Other Authors: Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics ETH Zürich (IBP), Department of Environmental Systems Science ETH Zürich (D-USYS), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich)-Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich), National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet = Technical University of Denmark (DTU), School of Environmental Sciences Norwich, University of East Anglia Norwich (UEA), Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie (MIO), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (MEL), Xiamen University
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: Angers CEDEX 01; France}; Université d'Angers; UPRES EA 2644; [15]{Laboratoire des Bio-Indicateurs Actuels et Fossiles (BIAF); [11]{Department of Biological Sciences; Old Dominion University; Norfolk; VA; USA}; [12]{InstfBiogeochemie uSchadstoffdynamik; Universitätstrasse 16; 8092 Zürich; Switzerland}; [13]{Department of Marine Sciences; Sultan Qaboos University; California 90095; Poland}; 141 Warszawa; 02-; Polish Academy of Sciences; Department of Antarctic Biology; [10]{Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics; Sultanate of Oman}; [14]{National Oceanography Centre; SO14 3ZH; Southampton; Waterfront Campus; Tasmania; Hobart; Private Bag 129; University of Tasmania; }; [8]{Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies; PO Box 11103; The Ferry Landing; [9]{The Freshwater Biological Association; Australia}; 7001; Ambleside; Far Sawrey; UK}; [17]{University of Groningen; Centre for Life Sciences Ecophysiology of Plants; LA22 0LP; Los Angeles; [16]{UCLA; 49045; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics; Antarc*; Antarctic; Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01664918; https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10074

International audience We characterize the realized ecological niches of 133 phytoplankton taxa in the open ocean based on observations from the MAREDAT initiative and a statistical species distribution model (MaxEnt). The models find that the physical conditions (mixed layer depth, temperature, light) govern large-scale patterns in phyto-plankton biogeography over nutrient availability. Strongest differences in the realized niche centers were found between diatoms and coccolithophores. Diatoms (87 species) occur in habitats with significantly lower temperatures, light intensity and salinity, with deeper mixed layers, and with higher nitrate and silicate concentrations than coccolithophores (40 species). However, we could not statistically separate the realized niches of coccolithophores from those of diazotrophs (two genera) and picophytoplankton (two genera). Phaeocystis (two species) niches only clearly differed from diatom niches for temperature. While the realized niches of diatoms cover the majority of niche space, the niches of picophytoplankton and coccolithophores spread across an intermediate fraction and diazotroph and colonial Phaeocystis niches only occur within a relatively confined range of environmental conditions in the open ocean. Our estimates of the realized niches roughly match the predictions of Reynolds' C-S-R model for the global ocean, namely that taxa classified as nutrient stress tolerant have niches at lower nutrient and higher irradiance conditions than light stress tolerant taxa. Yet, there is considerable within-class variability in niche centers, and many taxa occupy broad niches, suggesting that more complex approaches may be necessary to capture all aspects of phytoplankton ecology.