Effect of CO2, nutrients and light on coastal plankton. III. Trophic cascade, size structure and composition

A. Reul; M. Muñoz; B. Bautista; P. J. Neale; C. Sobrino; J. M. Mercado; M. Segovia; S. Salles; G. Kulk; P. León; W. H. Van de Poll; E. Pérez; A. Buma; J. M. Blanco

doi:10.3354/ab00585

Aquatic Biology

via Mailchimp

AB 22:59-76 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00585

Theme Section: Environmental forcing of aquatic primary productivity

Effect of CO₂, nutrients and light on coastal plankton. III. Trophic cascade, size structure and composition

A. Reul^1,*, M. Muñoz¹, B. Bautista¹, P. J. Neale², C. Sobrino³, J. M. Mercado⁴, M. Segovia¹, S. Salles⁴, G. Kulk⁵, P. León⁴, W. H. Van de Poll⁶, E. Pérez¹, A. Buma⁵, J. M. Blanco¹

¹Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Departamento de Ecología, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain
²Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland 21037, USA
³Department of Ecology and Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain
⁴Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Puerto Pesquero s/n, 29640 Fuengirola, Málaga, Spain
⁵Department of Ocean Ecosystems, Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
⁶Department of Biological Oceanography, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, The Netherlands

*Corresponding author: areul@uma.es

ABSTRACT: We investigated the impacts of climate change-associated abiotic factors on the species composition and size structure of coastal phytoplankton communities. Surface coastal water collected off the coast of Málaga (Spain) was incubated outdoors during a 7 d microcosm experiment. The natural phytoplankton communities were exposed to high and low conditions of CO₂, nutrients and light. During the first 2 d, a positive response to increased CO₂ and nutrient concentration was observed in terms of abundance and chlorophyll in all size fractions (<2, 2 to 20, and >20 µm). After 2 d, a trophic cascade effect was observed within the phytoplankton communities for all treatments. The absence of mesozooplankton led to an increase in microzooplankton abundance, which coincided with a decrease in the abundance of phytoplankton <6 µm equivalent spherical diameter (ESD). At the same time, an increased concentration of larger phytoplankton was observed. Consequently, a diatom bloom dominated by Leptocylindrus danicus and Chaetoceros sp. developed, peaking on Day 5 in the high-light treatment and on Day 6 in the low-light treatment. The cascade effect was evident in both the smaller and the larger ranges of the size-abundance spectra (SAS). Although this trophic interaction occurred in all treatments in a similar way, there were still significant differences among treatments. Diatoms with cell sizes >20 µm ESD showed a positive response to the effects of increasing CO₂ and nutrient concentration. These results highlight the importance of trophic interactions other than abiotic factors such as CO₂ and nutrient availability in shaping the size structure of Mediterranean phytoplankton. More specifically, this work shows the importance of trophic cascade effects in scaling the plankton SAS and should be considered in both enclosure experiments and field measurements that deal with size distribution.

KEY WORDS: Microcosm · CO₂ · Nutrients · Phytoplankton · Composition · Size structure · Top‑down · Trophic cascade

Full text in pdf format

Cite this article as: Reul A, Muñoz M, Bautista B, Neale PJ and others (2014) Effect of CO₂, nutrients and light on coastal plankton. III. Trophic cascade, size structure and composition. Aquat Biol 22:59-76. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00585

Export citation
Share: Facebook - - linkedIn

Cited by

Previous article Next article

AB 22:59-76 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00585

Theme Section: Environmental forcing of aquatic primary productivity