Swift thermal reaction norm evolution in a key marine phytoplankton species.

ABSTRACT: Temperature has a profound effect on the species composition and physiology of marine phytoplankton, a polyphyletic group of microbes responsible for half of global primary production. Here, we ask whether and how thermal reaction norms in a key calcifying species, the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi, change as a result of 2.5 years of experimental evolution to a temperature ≈2°C below its upper thermal limit. Replicate experimental populations derived from a single genotype isolated from Norwegian coastal waters were grown at two temperatures for 2.5 years before assessing thermal responses at 6 temperatures ranging from 15 to 26°C, with pCO ₂ (400/1100/2200 μatm) as a fully factorial additional factor. The two selection temperatures (15°/26.3°C) led to a marked diverg

SUBMITTER: Listmann L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5039328 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature