Interspecific Resource Competition—Combined Effects of Radiation and Nutrient Limitation on Two Diazotrophic Filamentous Cyanobacteria

Abstract

The cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea are dominated by diazotrophic cyanobacteria, the potentially toxic species Aphanizomenon sp. and the toxic species Nodularia spumigena. The seasonal succession with peaks of Aphanizomenon sp., followed by peaks of N. spumigena, has been explained by the species-specific niches of the two species. In a three-factorial outdoor experiment, we tested if nutrient and radiation conditions may impact physiological and biochemical responses of N. spumigena and Aphanizomenon sp. in the presence or absence of the other species. The two nutrient treatments were f/2 medium without NO (3) (-) (-N) and f/2 medium without PO (4) (3-) (-P), and the two ambient radiation treatments were photosynthetic active radiation >395nm (PAR) and PAR + UV-A + UV-B >295nm. The study showed that Aphanizomenon sp. was not negatively affected by the presence of N. spumigena and that N. spumigena was better adapted to both N and P limitation in interaction with ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280-400nm). In the Baltic Sea, these physical conditions are likely to prevail in the surface water during summer. Interestingly, the specific growth rate of N. spumigena was stimulated by the presence of Aphanizomenon sp. We suggest that the seasonal succession, with peaks of Aphanizomenon sp. followed by peaks of N. spumigena, is a result from species-specific preferences of environmental conditions and/or stimulation by Aphanizomenon sp. rather than an allelopathic effect of N. spumigena. The results from our study, together with a predicted stronger stratification due to effects of climate change in the Baltic Sea with increased temperature and increased precipitation and increased UV-B due to ozone losses, reflect a scenario with a continuing future dominance of the toxic N. spumigena.