Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification
Coccolithophores—single-celled calcifying phytoplankton—are an important group of marine primary producers and the dominant builders of calcium carbonate globally. Coccolithophores form extensive blooms and increase the density and sinking speed of organic matter via calcium carbonate ballasting. Th...
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ftunivtasmania:oai:eprints.utas.edu.au:30908 2023-05-15T17:49:17+02:00 Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification Riebesell, U Bach, LT Bellerby, RGJ Monsalve, JRB Boxhammer, T Czerny, J Larsen, A Ludwig, A Schulz, KG 2017 https://eprints.utas.edu.au/30908/ unknown Nature Publishing Group Riebesell, U, Bach, LT orcid:0000-0003-0202-3671 , Bellerby, RGJ, Monsalve, JRB, Boxhammer, T, Czerny, J, Larsen, A, Ludwig, A and Schulz, KG 2017 , 'Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification' , Nature Geoscience, vol. 10 , pp. 19-23 , doi:10.1038/NGEO2854 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2854>. plankton calcification ocean acidification biological carbon pump Article PeerReviewed 2017 ftunivtasmania https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2854 2021-09-13T22:20:09Z Coccolithophores—single-celled calcifying phytoplankton—are an important group of marine primary producers and the dominant builders of calcium carbonate globally. Coccolithophores form extensive blooms and increase the density and sinking speed of organic matter via calcium carbonate ballasting. Thereby, they play a key role in the marine carbon cycle. Coccolithophore physiological responses to experimental ocean acidification have ranged from moderate stimulation to substantial decline in growth and calcification rates, combined with enhanced malformation of their calcite platelets. Here we report on a mesocosm experiment conducted in a Norwegian fjord in which we exposed a natural plankton community to a wide range of CO2-induced ocean acidification, to test whether these physiological responses affect the ecological success of coccolithophore populations. Under high-CO2 treatments, Emiliania huxleyi, the most abundant and productive coccolithophore species, declined in population size during the pre-bloom period and lost the ability to form blooms. As a result, particle sinking velocities declined by up to 30% and sedimented organic matter was reduced by up to 25% relative to controls. There were also strong reductions in seawater concentrations of the climate-active compound dimethylsulfide in CO2-enriched mesocosms. We conclude that ocean acidification can lower calcifying phytoplankton productivity, potentially creating a positive feedback to the climate system. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification University of Tasmania: UTas ePrints Nature Geoscience 10 1 19 23 |
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University of Tasmania: UTas ePrints |
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ftunivtasmania |
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plankton calcification ocean acidification biological carbon pump |
spellingShingle |
plankton calcification ocean acidification biological carbon pump Riebesell, U Bach, LT Bellerby, RGJ Monsalve, JRB Boxhammer, T Czerny, J Larsen, A Ludwig, A Schulz, KG Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification |
topic_facet |
plankton calcification ocean acidification biological carbon pump |
description |
Coccolithophores—single-celled calcifying phytoplankton—are an important group of marine primary producers and the dominant builders of calcium carbonate globally. Coccolithophores form extensive blooms and increase the density and sinking speed of organic matter via calcium carbonate ballasting. Thereby, they play a key role in the marine carbon cycle. Coccolithophore physiological responses to experimental ocean acidification have ranged from moderate stimulation to substantial decline in growth and calcification rates, combined with enhanced malformation of their calcite platelets. Here we report on a mesocosm experiment conducted in a Norwegian fjord in which we exposed a natural plankton community to a wide range of CO2-induced ocean acidification, to test whether these physiological responses affect the ecological success of coccolithophore populations. Under high-CO2 treatments, Emiliania huxleyi, the most abundant and productive coccolithophore species, declined in population size during the pre-bloom period and lost the ability to form blooms. As a result, particle sinking velocities declined by up to 30% and sedimented organic matter was reduced by up to 25% relative to controls. There were also strong reductions in seawater concentrations of the climate-active compound dimethylsulfide in CO2-enriched mesocosms. We conclude that ocean acidification can lower calcifying phytoplankton productivity, potentially creating a positive feedback to the climate system. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Riebesell, U Bach, LT Bellerby, RGJ Monsalve, JRB Boxhammer, T Czerny, J Larsen, A Ludwig, A Schulz, KG |
author_facet |
Riebesell, U Bach, LT Bellerby, RGJ Monsalve, JRB Boxhammer, T Czerny, J Larsen, A Ludwig, A Schulz, KG |
author_sort |
Riebesell, U |
title |
Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification |
title_short |
Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification |
title_full |
Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification |
title_fullStr |
Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification |
title_full_unstemmed |
Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification |
title_sort |
competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/30908/ |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_relation |
Riebesell, U, Bach, LT orcid:0000-0003-0202-3671 , Bellerby, RGJ, Monsalve, JRB, Boxhammer, T, Czerny, J, Larsen, A, Ludwig, A and Schulz, KG 2017 , 'Competitive fitness of a predominant pelagic calcifier impaired by ocean acidification' , Nature Geoscience, vol. 10 , pp. 19-23 , doi:10.1038/NGEO2854 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2854>. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2854 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
19 |
op_container_end_page |
23 |
_version_ |
1766155562671669248 |