Invited Review - Fight on Plankton! or, Phytoplankton Shape and Size as Adaptive Tools to Get Ahead in the Struggle for Life

Spatial heterogeneity and seasonal succession of phytoplankton functional groups along the vertical gradient in a mesotrophic reservoir

“…Reynolds (2006) showed that phytoplankton growth strategies in a lake at a given time could be predicted from the environmental conditions prevailing in the water column. These conditions are largely determined by two key variables: the ratio between the depth of the mixing zone and the euphotic depth (z mix /z eu ), which represents a proxy of underwater light climate, and nutrient availability (Naselli-Flores and Barone, 2011). In Sicilian reservoirs, Naselli-Flores (2000) observed that in the higher part of the trophic spectrum, where nutrients are seldom (if ever) limiting phytoplankton growth, the z mix /z eu ratio is the main constraint for phytoplankton functional composition, strongly controlling the phytoplankton morphological characteristics and the seasonal succession of functional groups (FGs).…”

Larger cell or colony size in winter, smaller in summer – a pattern shared by many species of Lake Kinneret phytoplankton

“…Biological parameters: biomass concentration, net growth rate (r); physical parameters: t = mean temperature of the upper 0-10 m layer, z mix = mixing depth, z mix /z eu = ratio of mixing depth to euphotic depth; chemical parameters: nH 4 remaining entrained in a constantly moving fluid. Size, as described by surface to volume ratio, and shape have important roles in modulating nutrients and light uptake and in determining phytoplankton spatial distribution in the mixed layers (e.g., Reynolds 2006;Litchman and Klausmeier 2008;Naselli-Flores and Barone 2011). In a population or in an assemblage, different environmental templates will select for individuals/species that best fit the actual environmental constraints (Reynolds et al 2002).…”

A comunidade fitoplanctônica nas represas Billings e Guarapiranga (região metropolitana de São Paulo)

“…Important functional traits of phytoplankton organisms are body size and shape (NASELLI-FLORES & BARONE, 2011). These features determine nutrient and energy acquisition capacities, extent and type of interspecific interactions, and therefore adaptive capacities of species with different characteristics .…”

“…Reynolds' (1997; described later in detail by Reynolds et al, 2002) functional group (FG) classification relies on two basic assumptions (NASELLI-FLORES & BARONE, 2011): 1) a functionally well-adapted species is likely to tolerate the constraining conditions offered by a given habitat more successfully than individuals of a less well-adapted species; and 2) a habitat characterized by a defined set of environmental constraints is more likely to be populated by species with the appropriate adaptations to be able to function there.…”