Maintenance of Intraspecific Diversity in Response to Species Competition and Nutrient Fluctuations.

ABSTRACT: Intraspecific diversity is a substantial part of biodiversity, yet little is known about its maintenance. Understanding mechanisms of intraspecific diversity shifts provides realistic detail about how phytoplankton communities evolve to new environmental conditions, a process especially important in times of climate change. Here, we aimed to identify factors that maintain genotype diversity and link the observed diversity change to measured phytoplankton morpho-functional traits Vmax and cell size of the species and genotypes. In an experimental setup, the two phytoplankton species Emiliania huxleyi and Chaetoceros affinis, each consisting of nine genotypes, were cultivated separately and together under different fluctuation and nutrient regimes. Their genotype composition was assessed aft

SUBMITTER: Hamer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8779635 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature