A comparison of species specific sensitivities to changing light and carbonate chemistry in calcifying marine phytoplankton.

ABSTRACT: Coccolithophores are unicellular marine phytoplankton and important contributors to global carbon cycling. Most work on coccolithophore sensitivity to climate change has been on the small, abundant bloom-forming species Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. However, large coccolithophore species can be major contributors to coccolithophore community production even in low abundances. Here we fit an analytical equation, accounting for simultaneous changes in CO₂ and light intensity, to rates of photosynthesis, calcification and growth in Scyphosphaera apsteinii. Comparison of responses to G. oceanica and E. huxleyi revealed S. apsteinii is a low-light adapted species and, in contrast, becomes more sensitive to changing environmental conditions when exposed to unfavourable

SUBMITTER: Gafar NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6385225 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature