Phytoplankton responses to changing temperature and nutrient availability are consistent across the tropical and subtropical Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: Temperature and nutrient supply interactively control phytoplankton growth and productivity, yet the role of these drivers together still has not been determined experimentally over large spatial scales in the oligotrophic ocean. We conducted four microcosm experiments in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic (29°N-27°S) in which surface plankton assemblages were exposed to all combinations of three temperatures (in situ, 3 °C warming and 3 °C cooling) and two nutrient treatments (unamended and enrichment with nitrogen and phosphorus). We found that chlorophyll a concentration and the biomass of picophytoplankton consistently increase in response to nutrient addition, whereas changes in temperature have a smaller and more variable effect. Nutrient enrichment leads to increased picoeukaryot

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Gonzalez C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9522883 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature