Impacts of temperature on primary productivity and respiration in naturally structured macroalgal assemblages.

ABSTRACT: Rising global temperatures caused by human-mediated change has already triggered significant responses in organismal physiology, distribution and ecosystem functioning. Although the effects of rising temperature on the physiology of individual organisms are well understood, the effect on community-wide processes has remained elusive. The fixation of carbon via primary productivity is an essential ecosystem function and any shifts in the balance of primary productivity and respiration could alter the carbon balance of ecosystems. Here we show through a series of tests that respiration of naturally structured algal assemblages in southern New Zealand greatly increases with rising temperature, with implications for net primary productivity (NPP). The NPP of in situ macroalgal assemblages was

SUBMITTER: Tait LW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3772813 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature