Coccolithophores lipid and carbon isotope composition and their variability related to changes in seawater carbonate chemistry

Fiorini, Sarah; Gattuso, Jean‐Pierre; Rijswijk, Pieter van; Middelburg, Jack J.

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2010.07.020

Cited by 29 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…This is consistent with some literature results [14,42], which showed only minor responses of C:N ratios in a range of species under CO 2 concentrations above present day levels, but it is in contrast to other studies that have shown increased C:N ratios under elevated pCO 2 [17][18][19]. A species-specific and even life stage-specific response of C:N ratio to elevated pCO 2 has been reported elsewhere [69]. Table 6.…”

Section: Fatty Acidssupporting

confidence: 92%

Species-Specific Variations in the Nutritional Quality of Southern Ocean Phytoplankton in Response to Elevated pCO2

Wynn‐Edwards

King

Davidson

et al. 2014

Water

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Increased seawater pCO 2 has the potential to alter phytoplankton biochemistry, which in turn may negatively affect the nutritional quality of phytoplankton as food for grazers. Our aim was to identify how Antarctic phytoplankton, Pyramimonas gelidicola, Phaeocystis antarctica, and Gymnodinium sp., respond to increased pCO 2 . Cultures were maintained in a continuous culture setup to ensure stable CO 2 concentrations. Cells were subjected to a range of pCO 2 from ambient to 993 µatm. We measured phytoplankton response in terms of cell size, cellular carbohydrate content, and elemental, pigment and fatty acid composition and content. We observed few changes in phytoplankton biochemistry with increasing CO 2 concentration which were species-specific and predominantly included differences in the fatty acid composition. The C:N ratio was unaffected by CO 2 concentration in the three species, while carbohydrate content decreased in Pyramimonas gelidicola, but increased in Phaeocystis antarctica. We found a significant reduction in the content of nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids in OPEN ACCESSWater 2014, 6 1841Pyramimonas gelidicola cultures under high CO 2 treatment, while cellular levels of the polyunsaturated fatty acid 20:5ω3, EPA, in Gymnodinium sp. increased. These changes in fatty acid profile could affect the nutritional quality of phytoplankton as food for grazers, however, further research is needed to identify the mechanisms for the observed species-specific changes and to improve our ability to extrapolate laboratory-based experiments on individual species to natural communities.

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Section: Fatty Acidssupporting

confidence: 92%

Species-Specific Variations in the Nutritional Quality of Southern Ocean Phytoplankton in Response to Elevated pCO2

Wynn‐Edwards

King

Davidson

et al. 2014

Water

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“…Mean exponential growth rates for C. braarudii at 15 • C were 0.68 d −1 . These values are well within the ranges reported in other studies carried out at similar temperatures for Calcidiscus (Langer et al, 2006;Buitenhuis et al, 2008;Fiorini et al, 2010Fiorini et al, , 2011Langer et al, 2012;Candelier et al, 2013;Müller et al, 2014) and H. carteri (Stoll et al, 2002;. Exponential growth rates of 0.4-0.5 d −1 signify that roughly half of the culture population undergoes cell division each day.…”

Section: Growth Ratessupporting

confidence: 89%

Physiology regulates the relationship between coccosphere geometry and growth phase in coccolithophores

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Coccolithophores are an abundant phytoplankton group that exhibit remarkable diversity in their biology, ecology and calcitic exoskeletons (coccospheres). Their extensive fossil record is a testament to their important biogeochemical role and is a valuable archive of biotic responses to environmental change stretching back over 200 million years. However, to realise the full potential of this archive for (palaeo-)biology and biogeochemistry requires an understanding of the physiological processes that underpin coccosphere architecture. Using culturing experiments on four modern coccolithophore species (Calcidiscus leptoporus, Calcidiscus quadriperforatus, Helicosphaera carteri and Coccolithus braarudii) from three long-lived families, we investigate how coccosphere architecture responds to shifts from exponential (rapid cell division) to stationary (slowed cell division) growth phases as cell physiology reacts to nutrient depletion. These experiments reveal statistical differences in coccosphere size and the number of coccoliths per cell between these two growth phases, specifically that cells in exponential-phase growth are typically smaller with fewer coccoliths, whereas cells experiencing growth-limiting nutrient depletion have larger coccosphere sizes and greater numbers of coccoliths per cell. Although the exact numbers are species-specific, these growth-phase shifts in coccosphere geometry demonstrate that the core physiological responses of cells to nutrient depletion result in increased coccosphere sizes and coccoliths per cell across four different coccolithophore families (Calcidiscaceae, Coccolithaceae, Isochrysidaceae and Helicosphaeraceae), a representative diversity of this phytoplankton group. Building on this, the direct comparison of coccosphere geometries in modern and fossil coccolithophores enables a proxy for growth phase to be developed that can be used to investigate growth responses to environmental change throughout their long evolutionary history. Our data also show that changes in growth rate and coccoliths per cell associated with growthphase shifts can substantially alter cellular calcite production. Coccosphere geometry is therefore a valuable tool for accessing growth information in the fossil record, providing unprecedented insights into the response of species to environmental change and the potential biogeochemical consequences.

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“…In laboratory studies, the offset between lipids and bulk material has been shown to be variable (van Dongen et al, 2002, Fiorini et al, 2010. One can expect that in field studies, with multiple species, however, these cellular variations would probably disappear within broader trends.…”

Section: Phytoplankton δ 13 Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable carbon isotope biogeochemistry of lakes along a trophic gradient

et al. 2014

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Abstract. The stable carbon (C) isotope variability of dissolved inorganic and organic C (DIC and DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), glucose and polar-lipid derived fatty acids (PLFAs) was studied in a survey of 22 North American oligotrophic to eutrophic lakes. The δ 13 C of different PLFAs were used as proxy for phytoplankton producers and bacterial consumers. Lake pCO 2 was primarily determined by autochthonous production (phytoplankton biomass), especially in eutrophic lakes, and governed the δ 13 C of DIC. All organic-carbon pools showed overall higher isotopic variability in eutrophic lakes (n = 11) compared to oligomesotrophic lakes (n = 11) because of the high variability in δ 13 C at the base of the food web (both autochthonous and allochthonous carbon). Phytoplankton δ 13 C was negatively related to lake pCO 2 over all lakes and positively related to phytoplankton biomass in eutrophic lakes, which was also reflected in a large range in photosynthetic isotope fractionation (ε CO 2 −phyto , 8-25 ‰). The carbon isotope ratio of allochthonous carbon in oligo-mesotrophic lakes was rather constant, while it varied in eutrophic lakes because of maize cultivation in the watershed.

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Coccolithophores lipid and carbon isotope composition and their variability related to changes in seawater carbonate chemistry

Cited by 29 publications

References 80 publications

Species-Specific Variations in the Nutritional Quality of Southern Ocean Phytoplankton in Response to Elevated pCO2

Species-Specific Variations in the Nutritional Quality of Southern Ocean Phytoplankton in Response to Elevated pCO2

Physiology regulates the relationship between coccosphere geometry and growth phase in coccolithophores

Stable carbon isotope biogeochemistry of lakes along a trophic gradient

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