Ecosystem disruptive algal blooms of the brown tide species, Aureococcus anophagefferens and Aureoumbra lagunensis

Gobler, Christopher J.; Sunda, William G.

doi:10.1016/j.hal.2011.10.013

Cited by 145 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 89 publications

(153 reference statements)

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“…This results in a lower ingestion rate for N. scintillans and other zooplankton grazers. This might explain why diatom blooms persist longer than other competing algae (Gobler and Sunda, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the Silica Content of Diatoms on Protozoan Grazing

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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This study examined the effect that silica content in diatom cells has on the behavior of protists. The diatoms Thalassiosira weissflogii and T. pseudonana were cultured in high or low light conditions to achieve low and high silica contents, respectively. These cells were then fed to a heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans and a ciliate Euplotes sp. in single and mixed diet experiments. Our results showed that in general, N. scintillans and Euplotes sp. both preferentially ingested the diatoms with a low silica content rather than those with a high silica content. However, Euplotes sp. seemed to be less influenced by the silica content than was N. scintillans. In the latter case, the clearance and ingestion rate of the low silica diatoms were significantly higher, both in the short (6-h) and long (1-d) duration grazing experiments. Our results also showed that N. scintillans required more time to digest the high silica-containing cells. As the high silica diatoms are harder to digest, this might explain why N. scintillans exhibits a strong preference for the low silica prey. Thus, the presence of high silica diatoms might limit the ability of the dinoflagellate to feed. Our findings suggest that the silica content of diatoms affects their palatability and digestibility and, consequently, the grazing activity and selectivity of protozoan grazers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the Silica Content of Diatoms on Protozoan Grazing

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…cannot use nitrate, it would be atypical, as the overwhelming majority of algal species can utilize this substrate (Antia et al 1975, DeYoe & Suttle 1994, including the Northeast United States brown tide species Aureococcus anophagefferens (Gobler & Sunda 2012) and the 2 Long Island green tide species Nannochloris atomus (Sunda & Guillard 1976) and Nannochloropsis gaditana (https://ncma.bigelow. org).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling ecosystem disruptive algal blooms: positive feedback mechanisms

Sunda¹,

Shertzer²

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Harmful blooms of algae that disrupt and degrade ecosystems (ecosystem disruptive algal blooms, EDABs) are occurring with increasing frequency with eutrophication and other adverse anthropogenic alterations of coastal systems. EDAB events have been hypothesized to be caused by positive feedback interactions involving differential growth of competing algal species, low grazing mortality rates on EDAB species, and resulting decreases in nutrient inputs from grazer-mediated nutrient cycling as the EDAB event progresses. Here we develop a nutrient− phytoplankton−zooplankton model to test the conceptual positive feedback hypothesis. In this model we compete the low-nutrient adapted brown tide EDAB species Aureoumbra lagunensis and 2 high-nutrient-adapted diatoms (Thalassiosira pseudonana and T. weissflogii) using published data for growth rate versus limiting nutrient (ammonium) concentration. The model results support the positive feedback hypothesis for EDAB formation, and verify that bloom formation requires low grazing rates on the EDAB species. The model predicts that because of the positive feedback, the harmful bloom should persist once formed. The model further shows that the likelihood and biomass intensity of an EDAB event is increased by greater residence time of water in a coastal system and that increased nutrient supply increases its severity. Our results demonstrate that EDAB events do not simply involve a direct stimulation of growth of harmful species by increased nutrients, but rather involve complex interactions among the growth of competing algal species, differential grazing on those species, and changes in nutrient cycling that are directly linked to algal grazing.

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“…1); and the Indian River Lagoon, FL (Fig. 1), the only sites with reported blooms of A. lagunensis to date (7).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One group of HABs that has displayed a recent expansion in distribution is brown tides caused by the pelagophytes Aureococcus anophagefferens and Aureoumbra lagunensis (7). Brown tides caused by A. anophagefferens were first documented in the northeastern United States in 1985 (8) but were subsequently detected in the mid-Atlantic United States and South Africa during the 1990s (9,10) and more recently in the Bohai Sea in northeastern China (11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%