A phytoplankton time series in the Northwestern Adriatic Sea: Structure and dynamics of the assemblages in a coastal ecosystem

Casabianca, Silvia; Capellacci, Samuela; Ricci, Fabio; Scardi, Michele; Penna, Antonella

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2022.108109

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…The negative correlation between these parameters confirmed the role of river discharge on nutrient availability [47,48], which can positively influence the Adriatic productivity through a bottom-up mechanism [49]. This phenomenon is particularly important in the western coastal area, where a decreasing trend in nutrient loads and general river input was linked to a shift towards oligotrophic conditions and to changes in the phytoplanktonic community [33,34,47,50]. By comparing the surface chlorophyll concentration from satellite data (Figure 9) recorded before the sampling in station 22 (the closest to the Po River delta) in both 2019 and 2022, we can also conclude that the decrease in phytoplankton biomass is unlikely to have been caused by a shift in phenology, since the expected peak in phytoplankton standing stock did not occur in spring 2022.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Interannual Variation in the Zooplankton Community of the North Adriatic Sea under Short-Term Climatic Anomalies

Menicucci,

De Felice,

Biagiotti

et al. 2024

Diversity

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Zooplankton are a pivotal component of the pelagic community, and their abundance and distribution are often strongly dependent on environmental conditions at sea. However, climate change can pose significant challenges to planktonic organisms. Therefore, in this study, we tried to address the possible effect of short-term climatic anomalies on the zooplankton community in the North Adriatic Sea, comparing mesozooplankton composition in June between two years with very different temperature and rainfall levels, i.e., 2019 and 2022. Environmental conditions at sea were significantly different, since 2022 faced rising temperatures in the northern part of the area and higher salinity and lower chlorophyll values in coastal samples. Our data unveiled a community shift, from a Noctiluca-dominated community to a crustacean-dominated one, and revealed that even offshore areas can be subject to changes, despite having quite stable environmental parameters. Our findings confirmed the influence of river inputs and temperature on the Adriatic community’s distribution and composition, highlighting how climate-driven changes could have unpredictable effects on the whole Adriatic ecosystem. Indeed, each species has its own role in ecosystem functioning and climatic anomalies could uncouple the fine-scale connections that make up the pelagic trophic web.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Interannual Variation in the Zooplankton Community of the North Adriatic Sea under Short-Term Climatic Anomalies

Menicucci,

De Felice,

Biagiotti

et al. 2024

Diversity

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“…Casabianca et al [84] described the changes in phytoplankton time series along the western coast of the Northern Adriatic Sea, showing a regular annual period in the composition structure of the coastal strip. The research indicates that the phytoplankton composition is influenced by various environmental factors, including physical variables and nutrient availability.…”

Section: Final Considerations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Eutrophication of the Northern Adriatic Sea: History and Future Scenarios

Marini

Grilli

2023

Applied Sciences

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In the last two decades of the 21st century, a gradual decrease in nitrogen and phosphorus has been observed along the coastal area of the Northern Adriatic Sea. This depletion is attributed to reduced river flows. Studies conducted over the past four decades have indicated that the N/P ratio in the open sea is unlikely to undergo significant change. In fact, it tends to increase due to the unique characteristics of the Northern Adriatic Sea, which experiences slow water turnover and is influenced by strong winds. Additionally, the Northern Adriatic Sea receives a substantial amount of freshwater from rivers, accounting for about one-third of the total freshwater flow into the Mediterranean. These rivers carry nutrient loads that contribute to the high productivity and abundance of fish in this sea, making it one of the most productive areas in the Mediterranean. It has been observed that the cessation of anthropogenic phosphorus input, which has been regulated since the late 1980s with legislation limiting its use in detergents, has significantly affected the trophic chain. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the eutrophication trend in the Northern Adriatic Sea, highlighting the importance long-term data series.

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“…Seasonal diatom blooms, which are frequently monospecific or mixed by co-occurring dominating diatom taxa, such as Chaetoceros spp. and Skeletonema marinoi, are of importance in this Adriatic region (Cabrini et al, 2012;Totti et al, 2019;Casabianca et al, 2021;Casabianca et al, 2022;Neri et al, 2023). The high-density blooms are sustained by nutrient availability from turbulent waters and riverine inputs from both Po and minor river discharges (Bernardi Aubry et al, 2004;Penna et al, 2004;Mangoni et al, 2008;Socal et al, 2008;Mangoni et al, 2013;Penna et al, 2013;Ricci et al, 2022), as well as diatom high nutrient uptake rates (Litchman et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

RNA/DNA ratios as estimate of metabolic and functional traits in diatom species from the northwestern Adriatic Sea

Casabianca,

Capellacci,

Ricci

et al. 2023

Journal of Plankton Research

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Different phytoplankton biomass estimations can provide information about abundance variation, but they are not able to describe the metabolic activity of species or groups within assemblages. Conversely, molecular traits are key for the metabolic dynamics in pelagic ecosystems. To investigate if the RNA/DNA and taxon-specific 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)/ribosomal DNA (rDNA) ratios could be used to assess and be indicators of metabolic activity in marine phytoplankton species, two Adriatic diatom species, Chaetoceros socialis and Skeletonema marinoi, were studied. Significant correlations between abundance, chlorophyll a, carbon content and proteins were found in individual and co-cultured growth experiments (from rs = 0.570 to rs = 0.986, P < 0.001). The biomass trend followed a logistic curve without providing additional information regarding diatom metabolic activity. In both experiments, the RNA/DNA and taxon-specific 18S rRNA/rDNA ratios of C. socialis and S. marinoi showed maximum values at the beginning of the growth phase, i.e as 23.2 ± 1.5 and 15.3 ± 0.8, and 16.2 ± 1.6 and 30.1 ± 5.4 after 2 and 6 days, respectively, in individual cultures, with a subsequent significant decrease in these values for both species in individual and co-culture experiments. Our results showed that these molecular rRNA/rDNA ratios expressed an activation of metabolism before the abundance increases, even in the presence of interspecific interaction between C. socialis and S. marinoi.

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A phytoplankton time series in the Northwestern Adriatic Sea: Structure and dynamics of the assemblages in a coastal ecosystem

Cited by 7 publications

References 93 publications

Interannual Variation in the Zooplankton Community of the North Adriatic Sea under Short-Term Climatic Anomalies

Interannual Variation in the Zooplankton Community of the North Adriatic Sea under Short-Term Climatic Anomalies

The Role of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Eutrophication of the Northern Adriatic Sea: History and Future Scenarios

RNA/DNA ratios as estimate of metabolic and functional traits in diatom species from the northwestern Adriatic Sea

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