Abstract
Predicting the outcome of future climate change requires an understanding of how alterations in multiple environmental factors manifest in natural communities and affect ecosystem functioning. We conducted an in situ, fully factorial field manipulation of CO2 and temperature on a rocky shoreline in southeastern Alaska, USA. Warming strongly impacted functioning of tide pool systems within one month, with the rate of net community production (NCP) more than doubling in warmed pools under ambient CO2 levels relative to initial NCP values. However, in pools with added CO2, NCP was unaffected by warming. Productivity responses paralleled changes in the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of a red alga, the most abundant primary producer species in the system, highlighting the direct link between physiology and ecosystem functioning. These observed changes in algal physiology and community productivity in response to our manipulations indicate the potential for natural systems to shift rapidly in response to changing climatic conditions and for multiple environmental factors to act antagonistically.
Highlights
Recent climatic changes have been small relative to those expected in the future [1] yet have altered biological systems worldwide [2]
Few studies have explored the impacts of alterations in multiple environmental factors on natural communities, and even fewer have assessed the consequences of such changes for rates of ecosystem functioning; we address both of these issues in this study
This difference is similar to the change in pH observed in one un-manipulated tide pool during a single daytime low-tide, where pH increased from 7.51 to 8.15 due to passive warming and photosynthetic draw-down of CO2. pH levels varied by more than 3 units in un-manipulated pools based on daily measurements during our experiment
Summary
Recent climatic changes have been small relative to those expected in the future [1] yet have altered biological systems worldwide [2]. Despite the increasing confidence with which climate modelers are making prognoses for future climate change [1], ecologists lack crucial biological data necessary to forecast future impacts on the earth’s species. Few studies have explored the impacts of alterations in multiple environmental factors on natural communities, and even fewer have assessed the consequences of such changes for rates of ecosystem functioning; we address both of these issues in this study. Interacting species often respond differently when subjected to changes in multiple climate factors at the same time [4].
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