Coccolithophore community response to ocean acidification and warming in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea : results from a mesocosm experiment
D'Amario, Barbara (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Pérez, Carlos (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Grelaud, Michael (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Pitta, Paraskevi (Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. Institute of Oceanography)
Krasakopoulou, Evangelia (University of the Aegean. Department of Marine Sciences)
Ziveri, Patrizia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2020
Abstract:	Mesocosm experiments have been fundamental to investigate the effects of elevated CO and ocean acidification (OA) on planktic communities. However, few of these experiments have been conducted using naturally nutrient-limited waters and/or considering the combined effects of OA and ocean warming (OW). Coccolithophores are a group of calcifying phytoplankton that can reach high abundances in the Mediterranean Sea, and whose responses to OA are modulated by temperature and nutrients. We present the results of the first land-based mesocosm experiment testing the effects of combined OA and OW on an oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean coccolithophore community. Coccolithophore cell abundance drastically decreased under OW and combined OA and OW (greenhouse, GH) conditions. Emiliania huxleyi calcite mass decreased consistently only in the GH treatment; moreover, anomalous calcifications (i. e. coccolith malformations) were particularly common in the perturbed treatments, especially under OA. Overall, these data suggest that the projected increase in sea surface temperatures, including marine heatwaves, will cause rapid changes in Eastern Mediterranean coccolithophore communities, and that these effects will be exacerbated by OA.
Grants:	European Commission 265103 Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad CTM2016-79547-R Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MDM2015-0552 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-1588
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Biodiversity ; Biogeochemistry ; Biooceanography ; Climate-change ecology ; Ecosystem ecology ; Carbon cycle ; Marine biology ; Climate change ; Climate-change impacts
Published in:	Scientific reports, Vol. 10 (July 2020) , art. 12637, ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69519-5
PMID: 32724047

14 p, 3.8 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles