Data_Sheet_1_Impacts of Seagrass on Benthic Microalgae and Phytoplankton Communities in an Experimentally Warmed Coral Reef Mesocosm.docx

• Main Authors: Kwee Siong Tew (10950744), Jimmy Kuo (669269), Jing-O Cheng (5088878), Fung-Chi Ko (2960445), Pei-Jie Meng (309350), Anderson B. Mayfield (10950747), Pi-Jen Liu (309358)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Oceanography; Marine Biology; Marine Geoscience; Biological Oceanography; Chemical Oceanography; Physical Oceanography; Marine Engineering; Cladocopium; climate change; dinoflagellates; nutrients; seagrass; sedimentation; syndiniales; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.679683.s001

The effects of seagrass on microalgal assemblages under experimentally elevated temperatures (28°C) and CO 2 partial pressures (pCO 2 800 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.