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Seawater carbonate chemistry and biological processes during experiments with four strains of Emiliania huxleyi

Four strains of the coccolithophore E. huxleyi (RCC1212, RCC1216, RCC1238, RCC1256) were grown in dilute batch culture at four CO2 levels ranging from ~200 µatm to ~1200 µatm. Growth rate, particulate organic carbon content, and particulate inorganic carbon content were measured, and organic and inorganic carbon production calculated. The four strains did not show a uniform response to carbonate chemistry changes in any of the analysed parameters and none of the four strains displayed a response pattern previously described for this species. We conclude that the sensitivity of different strains of E. huxleyi to acidification differs substantially and that this likely has a genetic basis. We propose that this can explain apparently contradictory results reported in the literature.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and effects of ocean acidification on different life-cycle stages of the kelp Laminaria hyperborea (Phaeophyceae) in a laboratory experiment

Seawater carbonate chemistry and growth, survival and Chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters of Fucus vesiculosus L.(Phaeophyceae) in a seasonally fluctuating environment

Global change exposes brown algal Fucus vesiculosus populations to increasing temperature and pCO2, which may threaten individuals, in particular the early life-stages. Genetic diversity of F. vesiculosus populations is low in the Baltic compared to Atlantic populations. This might jeopardise their potential for adaptation to environmental changes. Here, we report on the responses of early life-stage F. vesiculosus to warming and acidification in a near-natural scenario maintaining natural and seasonal variation (spring 2013–2014) of the Kiel Fjord in the Baltic Sea, Germany (54°27ʹN, 10°11ʹW). We assessed how stress sensitivity differed among sibling groups and how genetic diversity of germling populations affected their stress tolerance. Warming increased growth rates of Fucus germlings in spring and in early summer, but led to higher photoinhibition in spring and decreased their survival in late summer. Acidification increased germlings' growth in summer but otherwise showed much weaker effects than warming. During the colder seasons (autumn and winter), growth was slow while survival was high compared to spring and summer, all at ambient temperatures. A pronounced variation in stress response among genetically different sibling groups (full-sib families) suggests a genotypic basis for this variation and thus a potential for adaptation for F. vesiculosus populations to future conditions. Corroborating this, survival in response to warming in populations with higher diversity was better than the mean survival of single sibling groups. We conclude that impacts on early life-stages depend on the combination of stressors and season and that genetic variation is crucial for the tolerance to global change stress.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and PI-curve parameters, non-photochemical quenching, maximum quantum yield, gross oxygen production and chlorophyll concentrations of Fucus vesiculosus in the Kiel Outdoor Benthocosms

Shallow coastal marine ecosystems are exposed to intensive warming events in the last decade, threatening keystone macroalgal species such as the bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus, Phaeophyceae) in the Baltic Sea. Herein, we experimentally tested in four consecutive benthic mesocosm experiments, if the single and combined impact of elevated seawater temperature (+ 5◦C) and pCO2 (1100 ppm) under natural irradiance conditions seasonally affected the photophysiological performance (i.e., oxygen production, in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence, energy dissipation pathways and chlorophyll concentration) of Baltic Sea Fucus. Photosynthesis was highest in spring/early summer when water temperature and solar irradiance increases naturally, and was lowest in winter (December to January/February). Temperature had a stronger effect than pCO2 on photosynthetic performance of Fucus in all seasons. In contrast to the expectation that warmer winter conditions might be beneficial, elevated temperature conditions and sub-optimal low winter light conditions decreased photophysiological performance of Fucus. In summer, western Baltic Sea Fucus already lives close to its upper thermal tolerance limit and future warming of the Baltic Sea during summer may probably become deleterious for this species. However, our results indicate that over most of the year a combination of future ocean warming and increased pCO2 will have slightly positive effects for Fucus photophysiological performance.

Surface seawater carbonate chemistry, nutrients and phytoplankton community composition on a transect between North Sea and Arctic Ocean, 2008

This data was collected during the 'ICE CHASER' cruise from the southern North Sea to the Arctic (Svalbard) in July-Aug 2008. This data consists of coccolithophore abundance, calcification and primary production rates, carbonate chemistry parameters and ancillary data of macronutrients, chlorophyll-a, average mixed layer irradiance, daily irradiance above the sea surface, euphotic and mixed layer depth, temperature and salinity.

Elevated pCO2 from late summer coastal upwellings in the western Baltic Sea enhances vegetative growth in the brown algae Fucus serratus: a laboratory assessment

The brown algae Fucus serratus is one of the major meadow forming algae of the Western Baltic Sea nearshore ecosystem. At the end of summer, those meadows are exposed to local upwelling suddenly increasing the pCO2 and DIC up to 2500 µatm and 2250 µmol/kg resp., for period of days to weeks. This study investigates the growth response of summer's vegetative Fucus serratus to elevated pCO2 (1350 and 4080 µatm) during a 40 days laboratory incubation. After 10 days, increases of growth rates of 20 % and 47 % of the control were observed in the 1350 and 4080 µatm pCO2 treatments respectively. Beyond 20 days, the growth rates collapsed in all treatments due to nutrients shortage, as demonstrated by high C:N ratios (95:1) and low N tissue content (0.04 % of dry weight). The collapse occurs faster at higher pCO2. On day 30, growth rates were reduced by 40 % and 100 % relative to the control at 1350 and 4080 µatm respectively. These results are consistent with a fertilizing effect of elevated pCO2 on Fucus serratus presumably linked to the transition from active HCO3- to passive CO2(aq) uptake. This positive effect is limited by nutrients resources, low seawater dissolved inorganic N and P and shortage of the nutrients reserves accumulated over the previous autumn and winter.