Ancient algae crossed a threshold

Abstract

The finding that the shells of certain algae can contain a signature of low levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide has prompted the discovery of the emergence of this signature in the fossil record. Here, experts discuss the implications of this for climate science and ocean ecology. See Letter p.558 Coccolithophores, widely distributed in the marine plankton, are unique among algae in that they use carbon for both calcification and photosynthesis. In this study Clara Bolton and Heather Stoll use a model of cellular carbon fluxes to show that when carbon dioxide concentrations are low, these organisms will allocate carbon preferentially to photosynthesis rather than to calcification, particularly in larger cells. This is reflected in a difference between the isotopic signature of small and large coccoliths that diminishes at high levels of carbon dioxide. This pattern can be seen in the fossil record; the authors identify an isotopic divergence between small and large coccoliths at around 6 million years ago, and interpret this as a threshold response of the cells' carbon acquisition to a global decrease in carbon dioxide concentrations at the time.