Effect of nutrient pollution on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages across estuaries of the NW Atlantic

Price, Andrea; Coffin, Michael R.S.; Pospelova, Vera; Latimer, James S.; Chmura, Gail L.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.024

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…Indeed, the different responses according to the studied estuaries can be explained by the different physico-chemical configurations (e.g. salinity, pH) (Price et al 2017). Our results appear similar to those obtained by Pospelova et al (2002), who concluded that L. machaerophorum does not respond positively to human inputs in shallow estuaries, having fewer consequences on water mass stratification than in deep Norwegian fjords (Dale et al, 1999;Dale, 2009).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscript 24supporting

confidence: 85%

Human-induced river runoff overlapping natural climate variability over the last 150 years: Palynological evidence (Bay of Brest, NW France)

Lambert

Penaud

Vidal

et al. 2018

Global and Planetary Change

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For the first time a very high resolution palynological study (mean resolution of 1 to 5 years) was carried out over the last 150 years in a French estuarine environment (Bay of Brest; NW France), allowing direct comparison between the evolution of landscapes, surface water, and human practices on Bay of Brest watersheds, through continental (especially pollen grains) and marine (phytoplanktonic microalgae: cysts of dinoflagellates or dinocysts) microfossils. Thanks to the small size of the watersheds and the close proximity of the depositional environment to the mainland, the Bay of Brest represents an ideal case study for palynological investigations. Palynological data were then compared to published palaeo-genetic analyses conducted on the same core and to various available instrumental data, allowing us to better characterize past environmental variability since the second half of the 19th century in Western Brittany. We provide evidence of some clues of recent eutrophication and/or pollution that affected phytoplankton communities and which appears linked with increased runoff (higher precipitations, higher percentages of riparian forest pollen, decline of salt marsh-type indicators, and higher values of the XRF Ti/Ca signal), mainly explained by the evolution of agricultural practices since 1945 superimposed on the warming climate trend. We assume that the significant relay observed between dinocyst taxa: Lingulodinium machaerophorum and Spiniferites bentorii around 1965 then followed by Spiniferites membranaceus after 1985, attests to a strong and recent eutrophication of Bay of Brest surface waters induced by high river runoff combined with abnormally elevated air temperatures, especially obvious in the data from 1990. The structure of the dinocyst community has thus been deeply altered, accompanied by an unprecedented increase of Alexandrium minutum toxic form at the same period, as confirmed by the genetic quantification. Despite this recent major anthropogenic forcing, the fossil pollen sequence also records natural climate variability. We highlight, for the first time, a possible connection between climate (AMO modes) and fossil pollen records (especially tree pollination rates) in coastal sediments using tree percentage fluctuations as an indirect Highlights ► High resolution palynological study (last 150 yrs) in a French estuary ► Increased runoff on mainland since 1945 ► Increased eutrophication indices since 1980 ► Changes in phytoplankton communities and increased toxic algal blooms ► Connection between AMO modes and fossil pollen records (tree pollination rates)

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Section: Accepted Manuscript 24supporting

confidence: 85%

Human-induced river runoff overlapping natural climate variability over the last 150 years: Palynological evidence (Bay of Brest, NW France)

Lambert

Penaud

Vidal

et al. 2018

Global and Planetary Change

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“…biodiversity changes, invasive species). Due to increasing urbanization and agriculture growth, nutrient pollution has become a major concern in many coastal regions (e.g., Carpenter et al, 1998;Rabalais, 2002;Price et al, 2017b). For example, over 65% of US estuaries are considered as moderately to highly eutrophicated (Bricker et al, 2008).…”

Section: Dinocyst-based Paleoecological Reconstructions On Coastal Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, regarding the whole dinoflagellate community, there is no consensus on a fossil dinocyst assemblage-type that would reflect nutrient enrichment in disturbed estuarine environments (Pospelova et al, 2002). Price et al (2017b) concluded that there is no single species that characterizes eutrophic estuaries or high nutrient loading. Large fluctuations in cyst production are then frequently observed and amplified by the abrupt increase of one or two regionally specific taxa (for example Spiniferites spp.…”

Section: Dinocyst-based Paleoecological Reconstructions On Coastal Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pospelova et al (2002) (Lambert et al, 2018 in NW France, Figure 8;Garcia-Moreiras et al, 2018 in NW Spain). Differences in geomorphology, hydrology, temperature and salinity between eutrophic estuaries thus result in different taxa responses to eutrophication (Price et al, 2017b). At the same time, some authors have shown that higher water temperatures could increase the vertical stability and influence the growth rates and the metabolism of the autotrophic dinoflagellates, contributing to increasing cyst production at the end of blooms (Godhe and McQuoid, 2003;Elshanawany et al, 2010) and highlighting the combined action of natural climatic variability and humaninduced eutrophication on recent dinocyst concentration increases.…”

Section: Dinocyst-based Paleoecological Reconstructions On Coastal Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dinoflagellate fossils: Geological and biological applications

Penaud

Hardy

Lambert

et al. 2018

Revue de Micropaléontologie

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Dinoflagellates are part of the marine plankton and about 200 species produce a cyst (dinocyst) during their life cycle, these organic-walled sexually-produced cysts being fossilizable in sediments for hundreds of millions of years. Over the past 40-50 years, dinocysts have led to major advances on Mesozoic-Cenozoic research, in terms of biostratigraphy and paleogeogeography. Dinocyst taxonomy has then been continuously revised, with the tabulation being the main morphological link between living dinoflagellates and fossilized cysts. Over the Quaternary, and based on the principle of uniformitarianism (i.e. species ecology did not change through time), relationships between modern assemblages and present-day environmental factors controlling their distribution also allow for dinocystbased quantitative reconstructions derived from transfer function calculations. This paper presents a non-exhaustive review of the dinocyst literature allowing the reader to get a perspective about how they were discovered and defined, but also how they are applied in (paleo)ecological studies according to the timescale considered allowing then to provide useful insights into the future climate change and its associated ecological repercussions.

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“…Thus, assemblage composition, abundance, and morphology can reflect the conditions prevailing at the time of cyst formation (Ellegaard et al, 2002;Godhe and McQuoid, 2003;Price and Pospelova, 2011;Heikkilä et al, 2016). The coupling between modern dinoflagellate cyst assemblages and corresponding environmental conditions (Godhe and McQuoid, 2003;Price et al, 2017) can be used to infer past environmental conditions. For example, dinoflagellate cyst records have been used to investigate past changes in sea surface conditions, such as temperature (e.g., Brinkhuis et al, 1998, de Vernal, et al 2001, Bringué et al, 2018, salinity (e.g., Wall & Dale, 1973;Head et al, 2004;Sorrel et al, 2006), sea-ice cover (e.g., Durantou et al, 2012), as well as changes in regional climate variability vs. anthropogenic change (e.g., Ribeiro et al, 2016) and in water quality due to eutrophication (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing salinity changes and environmental influence on dinoflagellate cysts in the central Baltic Sea since the late 19th century

Sildever

Ribeiro

Mertens

et al. 2019

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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We present a record of dinoflagellate cyst assemblage composition, abundance, and morphology from the central Baltic Sea, spanning from the late 19th to the early 21st century. Environmental time-series were analyzed in relation to changes in community structure and diversity as inferred from the sediment record, and average summer sea surface salinity (SSS) was reconstructed based on the average process length of Protoceratium reticulatum resting cysts. The reconstructed summer SSS was compared to instrumental data for a critical evaluation of this approach. The most abundant species in this record were P. reticulatum and Biecheleria baltica, and on average ten taxa were identified per sample. The cyst record of B. baltica indicated that although this species has been present in the Gotland Basin at least since the 1880s, its concentrations have increased significantly since the 1980s, possibly linked to eutrophication. Variations in assemblage composition and P. reticulatum cyst morphology reflected patterns of major, instrumentally recorded hydrographic and environmental changes in the Baltic Sea during the past century. The variability in microfossil relative abundances was best explained by the average spring SSS as well as by the average NO 3 concentrations during spring and by the combined effects of average summer SSS and NAO index variability. Reconstructed summer SSS and instrumental SSS showed notable differences, depending on the year and function applied for reconstruction. Although roughly reflecting the same patterns, the reconstructed values are offset when compared to instrumental measurements. We put forward suggestions for improvement of the process-length method and recommend using the reconstructed values as an indication of relative changes in past summer sea surface salinity, preferably as part of a multiproxy approach. Highlights ► Dinoflagellate cyst assemblage analysis from 19th century to present. ► Statistical analysis on the influence of environmental parameters to microfossils. ► Average summer sea surface salinity reconstructions based on cyst morphology. ► Most abundant species were Protoceratium reticulatum and Biecheleria baltica. ► Spring SSS, N0 3 , summer SSS, NAO best explained variability in microfossil abundances. ► Cyst assemblages and morphology reflected major environmental changes.

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Effect of nutrient pollution on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages across estuaries of the NW Atlantic

Cited by 25 publications

References 64 publications

Human-induced river runoff overlapping natural climate variability over the last 150 years: Palynological evidence (Bay of Brest, NW France)

Human-induced river runoff overlapping natural climate variability over the last 150 years: Palynological evidence (Bay of Brest, NW France)

Dinoflagellate fossils: Geological and biological applications

Reconstructing salinity changes and environmental influence on dinoflagellate cysts in the central Baltic Sea since the late 19th century

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