Seawater carbonate chemistry, nutrients, growth rate and phytoplnkton community response to increasing CO2 concentration during experiments, 2011

This paper reports for the first time upon the effects of increasing CO2 concentrations on a natural phytoplankton assemblage in a tropical estuary (the Godavari River Estuary in India). Two short-term (5-day) bottle experiments were conducted (with and without nutrient addition) during the pre-monsoon season when the partial pressure of CO2 in the surface water is quite low. The results reveal that the concentrations of total chlorophyll, the phytoplankton growth rate, the concentrations of particulate organic matter, the photosynthetic oxygen evolution rates, and the total bacterial count were higher under elevated CO2 treatments, as compared to ambient conditions (control). delta13C of particulate organic matter (POM) varied inversely with respect to CO2, indicating a clear signature of higher CO2 influx under the elevated CO2 levels. Whereas, delta13CPOM in the controls indicated the existence of an active bicarbonate transport system under limited CO2 supply. A considerable change in phytoplankton community structure was noticed, with marker pigment analysis by HPLC revealing that cyanobacteria were dominant over diatoms as CO2 concentrations increased. A mass balance calculation indicated that insufficient nutrients (N, P and Si) might have inhibited diatomgrowth compared to cyanobacteria, regardless of increased CO2 supply. The present study suggests that CO2 concentration and nutrient supply could have significant effects on phytoplankton physiology and community composition for natural phytoplankton communities in this region. However, this work was conducted during a non-discharge period (nutrient-limited conditions) and the responses of phytoplankton to increasing CO2 might not necessarily be the same during other seasons with high physicochemical variability. Further investigation is therefore needed.

Diurnal fluctuations in seawater pH influence the response of a calcifying macroalga to ocean acidification

Coastal ecosystems that are characterized by kelp forests encounter daily pH fluctuations, driven by photosynthesis and respiration, which are larger than pH changes owing to ocean acidification (OA) projected for surface ocean waters by 2100. We investigated whether mimicry of biologically mediated diurnal shifts in pH-based for the first time on pH time-series measurements within a kelp forest-would offset or amplify the negative effects of OA on calcifiers. In a 40-day laboratory experiment, the calcifying coralline macroalga, Arthrocardia corymbosa, was exposed to two mean pH treatments (8.05 or 7.65). For each mean, two experimental pH manipulations were applied. In one treatment, pH was held constant. In the second treatment, pH was manipulated around the mean (as a step-function), 0.4 pH units higher during daylight and 0.4 units lower during darkness to approximate diurnal fluctuations in a kelp forest. In all cases, growth rates were lower at a reduced mean pH, and fluctuations in pH acted additively to further reduce growth. Photosynthesis, recruitment and elemental composition did not change with pH, but ?(13)C increased at lower mean pH. Including environmental heterogeneity in experimental design will assist with a more accurate assessment of the responses of calcifiers to OA.

Diffusion boundary layers ameliorate the negative effects of ocean acidification on the temperate coralline macroalga Arthrocardia corymbosa

Anthropogenically-modulated reductions in pH, termed ocean acidification, could pose a major threat to the physiological performance, stocks, and biodiversity of calcifiers and may devalue their ecosystem services. Recent debate has focussed on the need to develop approaches to arrest the potential negative impacts of ocean acidification on ecosystems dominated by calcareous organisms. In this study, we demonstrate the role of a discrete (i.e. diffusion) boundary layer (DBL), formed at the surface of some calcifying species under slow flows, in buffering them from the corrosive effects of low pH seawater. The coralline macroalga Arthrocardia corymbosa was grown in a multifactorial experiment with two mean pH levels (8.05 'ambient' and 7.65 a worst case 'ocean acidification' scenario projected for 2100), each with two levels of seawater flow (fast and slow, i.e. DBL thin or thick). Coralline algae grown under slow flows with thick DBLs (i.e., unstirred with regular replenishment of seawater to their surface) maintained net growth and calcification at pH 7.65 whereas those in higher flows with thin DBLs had net dissolution. Growth under ambient seawater pH (8.05) was not significantly different in thin and thick DBL treatments. No other measured diagnostic (recruit sizes and numbers, photosynthetic metrics, %C, %N, %MgCO3) responded to the effects of reduced seawater pH. Thus, flow conditions that promote the formation of thick DBLs, may enhance the subsistence of calcifiers by creating localised hydrodynamic conditions where metabolic activity ameliorates the negative impacts of ocean acidification.

Seawater carbonate chemistry, gross photosynthesis and metabolically induced rate of pH change during experiments with macroalgae, 2012

Ocean acidification (OA) is a reduction in oceanic pH due to increased absorption of anthropogenically produced CO2. This change alters the seawater concentrations of inorganic carbon species that are utilized by macroalgae for photosynthesis and calcification: CO2 and HCO3 increase; CO32 decreases. Two common methods of experimentally reducing seawater pH differentially alter other aspects of carbonate chemistry: the addition of CO2 gas mimics changes predicted due to OA, while the addition of HCl results in a comparatively lower [HCO3]. We measured the short-term photosynthetic responses of five macroalgal species with various carbon-use strategies in one of three seawater pH treatments: pH 7.5 lowered by bubbling CO2 gas, pH 7.5 lowered by HCl, and ambient pH 7.9. There was no difference in photosynthetic rates between the CO2, HCl, or pH 7.9 treatments for any of the species examined. However, the ability of macroalgae to raise the pH of the surrounding seawater through carbon uptake was greatest in the pH 7.5 treatments. Modeling of pH change due to carbon assimilation indicated that macroalgal species that could utilize HCO3 increased their use of CO2 in the pH 7.5 treatments compared to pH 7.9 treatments. Species only capable of using CO2 did so exclusively in all treatments. Although CO2 is not likely to be limiting for photosynthesis for the macroalgal species examined, the diffusive uptake of CO2 is less energetically expensive than active HCO3 uptake, and so HCO3-using macroalgae may benefit in future seawater with elevated CO2.

Ocean acidification alleviates low-temperature effects on growth and photosynthesis of the red alga Neosiphonia harveyi (Rhodophyta)

This study aimed to examine interactive effects between ocean acidification and temperature on the photosynthetic and growth performance of Neosiphonia harveyi. N. harveyi was cultivated at 10 and 17.5 °C at present (~380 µatm), expected future (~800 µatm), and high (~1500 µatm) pCO2. Chlorophyll a fluorescence, net photosynthesis, and growth were measured. The state of the carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM) was examined by pH-drift experiments (with algae cultivated at 10 °C only) using ethoxyzolamide, an inhibitor of external and internal carbonic anhydrases (exCA and intCA, respectively). Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of acetazolamide (an inhibitor of exCA) and Tris (an inhibitor of the acidification of the diffusive boundary layer) on net photosynthesis was measured at both temperatures. Temperature affected photosynthesis (in terms of photosynthetic efficiency, light saturation point, and net photosynthesis) and growth at present pCO2, but these effects decreased with increasing pCO2. The relevance of the CCM decreased at 10 °C. A pCO2 effect on the CCM could only be shown if intCA and exCA were inhibited. The experiments demonstrate for the first time interactions between ocean acidification and temperature on the performance of a non-calcifying macroalga and show that the effects of low temperature on photosynthesis can be alleviated by increasing pCO2. The findings indicate that the carbon acquisition mediated by exCA and acidification of the diffusive boundary layer decrease at low temperatures but are not affected by the cultivation level of pCO2, whereas the activity of intCA is affected by pCO2. Ecologically, the findings suggest that ocean acidification might affect the biogeographical distribution of N. harveyi.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and biological processes of coral Acropora muricata during experiments and observations in La Saline fringing reef, La Reunion Island, western Indian Ocean, 2011

The effect of decreasing aragonite saturation state (Omega Arag) of seawater (elevated pCO2) on calcification rates of Acropora muricata was studied using nubbins prepared from parent colonies located at two sites of La Saline reef (La Réunion Island, western Indian Ocean): a back-reef site (BR) affected by nutrient-enriched groundwater discharge (mainly nitrate), and a reef flat site (RF) with low terrigenous inputs. Protein and chlorophyll a content of the nubbins, as well as zooxanthellae abundance, were lower at RF than BR. Nubbins were incubated at ~27°C over 2 h under sunlight, in filtered seawater manipulated to get differing initial pCO2 (1,440-340 µatm), Omega Arag (1.4-4.0), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations (2,100-1,850 µmol/kg). Increasing DIC concentrations at constant total alkalinity (AT) resulted in a decrease in Omega Arag and an increase in pCO2. AT at the beginning of the incubations was kept at a natural level of 2,193 ± 6 µmol/kg (mean ± SD). Net photosynthesis (NP) and calcification were calculated from changes in pH and AT during the incubations. Calcification decrease in response to doubling pCO2 relative to preindustrial level was 22% for RF nubbins. When normalized to surface area of the nubbins, (1) NP and calcification were higher at BR than RF, (2) NP increased in high pCO2 treatments at BR compared to low pCO2 treatments, and (3) calcification was not related to Omega Arag at BR. When normalized to NP, calcification was linearly related to Omega Arag at both sites, and the slopes of the relationships were not significantly different. The increase in NP at BR in the high pCO2 treatments may have increased calcification and thus masked the negative effect of low Omega Arag on calcification. Removing the effect of NP variations at BR showed that calcification declined in a similar manner with decreased Omega Arag (increased pCO2) whatever the nutrient loading.

Experiment: Influence of CO2 and nitrogen limitation on the coccolith volume of Emiliania huxleyi (Haptophyta)

Coccolithophores, a key phytoplankton group, are one of the most studied organisms regarding their physiological response to ocean acidification/carbonation. The biogenic production of calcareous coccoliths has made coccolithophores a promising group for paleoceanographic research aiming to reconstruct past environmental conditions. Recently, geochemical and morphological analyses of fossil coccoliths have gained increased interest in regard to changes in seawater carbonate chemistry. The cosmopolitan coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi (Lohm.) Hay and Mohler was cultured over a range of pCO2 levels in controlled laboratory experiments under nutrient replete and nitrogen limited conditions. Measurements of photosynthesis and calcification revealed, as previously published, an increase in particulate organic carbon production and a moderate decrease in calcification from ambient to elevated pCO2. The enhancement in particulate organic carbon production was accompanied by an increase in cell diameter. Changes in coccolith volume were best correlated with the coccosphere/cell diameter and no significant correlation was found between the coccolith volume and the particulate inorganic carbon production. The conducted experiments revealed that the coccolith volume of E. huxleyi is variable with aquatic CO2 concentration but its sensitivity is rather small in comparison with its sensitivity to nitrogen limitation. Comparing coccolith morphological and geometrical parameters like volume, mass and size to physiological parameters under controlled laboratory conditions is an important step to understand variations in fossil coccolith geometry.