Correlation of methane production with physiological traits in Trichodesmium IMS 101 grown with methylphosphonate at different temperatures.

The diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium has been recognized as a potentially significant contributor to aerobic methane generation via several mechanisms including the utilization of methylphophonate (MPn) as a source of phosphorus. Currently, there is no information about how environmental factors regulate methane production by Trichodesmium. Here, we grew Trichodesmium IMS101 at five temperatures ranging from 16 to 31°C, and found that its methane production rates increased with rising temperatures to peak (1.028 ± 0.040 nmol CH4 µmol POC-1 day-1) at 27°C, and then declined. Its specific growth rate changed from 0.03 ± 0.01 d-1 to 0.34 ± 0.02 d-1, with the optimal growth temperature identified between 27 and 31°C. Within the tested temperature range the Q10 for the methane production rate was 4.6 ± 0.7, indicating a high sensitivity to thermal changes. In parallel, the methane production rates showed robust positive correlations with the assimilation rates of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, resulting in the methane production quotients (molar ratio of carbon, nitrogen, or phosphorus assimilated to methane produced) of 227-494 for carbon, 40-128 for nitrogen, and 1.8-3.4 for phosphorus within the tested temperature range. Based on the experimental data, we estimated that the methane released from Trichodesmium can offset about 1% of its CO2 mitigation effects.

Ocean acidification alters microeukaryotic and bacterial food web interactions in a eutrophic subtropical mesocosm.

Ocean acidification (OA) is known to influence biological and ecological processes, mainly focusing on its impacts on single species, but little has been documented on how OA may alter plankton community interactions. Here, we conducted a mesocosm experiment with ambient (∼410 ppmv) and high (1000 ppmv) CO2 concentrations in a subtropical eutrophic region of the East China Sea and examined the community dynamics of microeukaryotes, bacterioplankton and microeukaryote-attached bacteria in the enclosed coastal seawater. The OA treatment with elevated CO2 affected taxa as the phytoplankton bloom stages progressed, with a 72.89% decrease in relative abundance of the protist Cercozoa on day 10 and a 322% increase in relative abundance of Stramenopile dominated by diatoms, accompanied by a 29.54% decrease in relative abundance of attached Alphaproteobacteria on day 28. Our study revealed that protozoans with different prey preferences had differing sensitivity to high CO2, and attached bacteria were more significantly affected by high CO2 compared to bacterioplankton. Our findings indicate that high CO2 changed the co-occurrence network complexity and stability of microeukaryotes more than those of bacteria. Furthermore, high CO2 was found to alter the proportions of potential interactions between phytoplankton and their predators, as well as microeukaryotes and their attached bacteria in the networks. The changes in the relative abundances and interactions of microeukaryotes between their predators in response to high CO2 revealed in our study suggest that high CO2 may have profound impacts on marine food webs.

Corrigendum: Applying Dialysis Bags to Grow Microalgae and Measure Grazing Rates by Secondary Producers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.838001.].

Applying Dialysis Bags to Grow Microalgae and Measure Grazing Rates by Secondary Producers.

Traditional methods using sealed bottles to determine the grazing rates by secondary producers neglect chemical changes induced by biological activities during the incubation, giving rise to instable levels of nutrients, pH, pCO2, pO2 and other chemicals along with changing microalgal cell concentrations and grazers' metabolism. Here, we used dialysis bags, which allows exchanges of nutrients and gases, to grow microalgae and to determine grazing rates of secondary producers. The specific growth rate of diatom within the dialysis bags increased with increasing water velocities, indicating its suitability to grow microalgae under dynamic water conditions. Then, we compared the grazing rates by the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans measured with the traditional method using polycarbonate (PC) bottles and the approach with the dialysis bags, and found that these two methods gave rise to comparable grazing rates. Nevertheless, the concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and phosphate in the closed PC bottles were about 89-94% lower than those in the dialysis bags due to the microalga's assimilation. Subsequently, we applied it to determine the grazing rates by a copepod and an oyster (in the presence of other grazers). Consistent results were obtained using the dialysis bags to determine grazing rates by copepods. During the mesocosm (3000 L) experiment in the presence of primary and secondary producers, the grazing rates by the oyster Crassostrea angulata were determined based on the difference of phytoplankton biomass within and outside of the dialysis bags that held all organisms in the mesocosm except the oyster. Since the dialysis bags are permeable to gases, the grazing rates by the oyster under 410 (AC) and 1,000 (HC) µatm CO2 were successfully measured, with a promising result that HC significantly increased the oyster's grazing. We concluded that using dialysis bags to grow microalgae and to determine grazing rates is a reliable approach, especially under different levels of CO2 and O2.

Enhancement of diatom growth and phytoplankton productivity with reduced O2 availability is moderated by rising CO2.

Many marine organisms are exposed to decreasing O2 levels due to warming-induced expansion of hypoxic zones and ocean deoxygenation (DeO2). Nevertheless, effects of DeO2 on phytoplankton have been neglected due to technical bottlenecks on examining O2 effects on O2-producing organisms. Here we show that lowered O2 levels increased primary productivity of a coastal phytoplankton assemblage, and enhanced photosynthesis and growth in the coastal diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. Mechanistically, reduced O2 suppressed mitochondrial respiration and photorespiration of T. weissflogii, but increased the efficiency of their CO2 concentrating mechanisms (CCMs), effective quantum yield and improved light use efficiency, which was apparent under both ambient and elevated CO2 concentrations leading to ocean acidification (OA). While the elevated CO2 treatment partially counteracted the effect of low O2 in terms of CCMs activity, reduced levels of O2 still strongly enhanced phytoplankton primary productivity. This implies that decreased availability of O2 with progressive DeO2 could boost re-oxygenation by diatom-dominated phytoplankton communities, especially in hypoxic areas, with potentially profound consequences for marine ecosystem services in coastal and pelagic oceans.

Elevated pCO2 changes community structure and function by affecting phytoplankton group-specific mortality.

The rise of atmospheric pCO2 has created a number of problems for marine ecosystem. In this study, we initially quantified the effects of elevated pCO2 on the group-specific mortality of phytoplankton in a natural community based on the results of mesocosm experiments. Diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community, and the concentration of chlorophyll a was significantly higher in the high-pCO2 treatment than the low-pCO2 treatment. Phytoplankton mortality (percentage of dead cells) decreased during the exponential growth phase. Although the mortality of dinoflagellates did not differ significantly between the two pCO2 treatments, that of diatoms was lower in the high-pCO2 treatment. Small diatoms dominated the diatom community. Although the mortality of large diatoms did not differ significantly between the two treatments, that of small diatoms was lower in the high-pCO2 treatment. These results suggested that elevated pCO2 might enhance dominance by small diatoms and thereby change the community structure of coastal ecosystems.

Disentangling the Effects of Ocean Carbonation and Acidification on Elemental Contents and Macromolecules of the Coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi.

Elemental contents change with shifts in macromolecular composition of marine phytoplankton. Recent studies focus on the responses of elemental contents of coccolithophores, a major calcifying phytoplankton group, to changing carbonate chemistry, caused by the dissolution of anthropogenically derived CO2 into the surface ocean. However, the effects of changing carbonate chemistry on biomacromolecules, such as protein and carbohydrate of coccolithophores, are less documented. Here, we disentangled the effects of elevated dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration (900 to 4,930µmolkg-1) and reduced pH value (8.04 to 7.70) on physiological rates, elemental contents, and macromolecules of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Compared to present DIC concentration and pH value, combinations of high DIC concentration and low pH value (ocean acidification) significantly increased pigments content, particulate organic carbon (POC), and carbohydrate content and had less impact on growth rate, maximal relative electron transport rate (rETR max), particulate organic nitrogen (PON), and protein content. In high pH treatments, elevated DIC concentration significantly increased growth rate, pigments content, rETR max, POC, particulate inorganic carbon (PIC), protein, and carbohydrate contents. In low pH treatments, the extents of the increase in growth rate, pigments and carbohydrate content were reduced. Compared to high pH value, under low DIC concentration, low pH value significantly increased POC and PON contents and showed less impact on protein and carbohydrate contents; however, under high DIC concentration, low pH value significantly reduced POC, PON, protein, and carbohydrate contents. These results showed that reduced pH counteracted the positive effects of elevated DIC concentration on growth rate, rETR max, POC, PON, carbohydrate, and protein contents. Elevated DIC concentration and reduced pH acted synergistically to increase the contribution of carbohydrate-carbon to POC, and antagonistically to affect the contribution of protein-nitrogen to PON, which further shifted the carbon/nitrogen ratio of E. huxleyi.

Carbon assimilation and losses during an ocean acidification mesocosm experiment, with special reference to algal blooms.

A mesocosm experiment was conducted in Wuyuan Bay (Xiamen), China, to investigate the effects of elevated pCO2 on bloom formation by phytoplankton species previously studied in laboratory-based ocean acidification experiments, to determine if the indoor-grown species performed similarly in mesocosms under more realistic environmental conditions. We measured biomass, primary productivity and particulate organic carbon (POC) as well as particulate organic nitrogen (PON). Phaeodactylum tricornutum outcompeted Thalassiosira weissflogii and Emiliania huxleyi, comprising more than 99% of the final biomass. Mainly through a capacity to tolerate nutrient-limited situations, P. tricornutum showed a powerful sustained presence during the plateau phase of growth. Significant differences between high and low CO2 treatments were found in cell concentration, cumulative primary productivity and POC in the plateau phase but not during the exponential phase of growth. Compared to the low pCO2 (LC) treatment, POC increased by 45.8-101.9% in the high pCO2 (HC) treated cells during the bloom period. Furthermore, respiratory carbon losses of gross primary productivity were found to comprise 39-64% for the LC and 31-41% for the HC mesocosms (daytime C fixation) in phase II. Our results suggest that the duration and characteristics of a diatom bloom can be affected by elevated pCO2. Effects of elevated pCO2 observed in the laboratory cannot be reliably extrapolated to large scale mesocosms with multiple influencing factors, especially during intense algal blooms.