Shift In Phytoplankton Community Research Articles

Effect of increased CO2 on calcium homeostasis and signaling in a marine diatom

AbstractOcean acidification influences photosynthesis, respiration, and metabolism in marine diatoms, leading to changes in diatom growth performance and shifts in phytoplankton communities. Previous studies have demonstrated that increases in seawater CO2 concentrations affect the uptake of trace metals such as iron, zinc, copper, and cobalt by marine diatoms. However, the influence of increased CO2 on calcium, which plays a vital role as a secondary messenger in various signaling pathways within organisms, has received limited attention so far. This study examined the effect of increased CO2 on Ca homeostasis and signaling in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. While seawater acidification had little effect on the diatom's growth, it significantly changed cell properties (surface topography, adhesion, and surface potential). Elevated CO2 concentrations reduced calcium accumulation P. tricornutum and lowered the rise of cytosolic Ca2+ transients stimulated by toxic aldehyde, phosphorus supplement, and hypo‐osmotic stress. Our results suggest that a continuous rise in atmospheric CO2 may alter diatoms' response to environmental cues.

Shifts in phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in three cyanobacteria-dominated lakes after treatment with hydrogen peroxide

Cyanobacteria can reach high densities in eutrophic lakes, which may cause problems due to their potential toxin production. Several methods are in use to prevent, control or mitigate harmful cyanobacterial blooms. Treatment of blooms with low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a promising emergency method. However, effects of H2O2 on cyanobacteria, eukaryotic phytoplankton and zooplankton have mainly been studied in controlled cultures and mesocosm experiments, while much less is known about the effectiveness and potential side effects of H2O2 treatments on entire lake ecosystems. In this study, we report on three different lakes in the Netherlands that were treated with average H2O2 concentrations ranging from 2 to 5 mg L−1 to suppress cyanobacterial blooms. Effects on phytoplankton and zooplankton communities, on cyanotoxin concentrations, and on nutrient availability in the lakes were assessed. After every H2O2 treatment, cyanobacteria drastically declined, sometimes by more than 99%, although blooms of Dolichospermum sp., Aphanizomenon sp., and Planktothrix rubescens were more strongly suppressed than a Planktothrix agardhii bloom. Eukaryotic phytoplankton were not significantly affected by the H2O2 additions and had an initial advantage over cyanobacteria after the treatment, when ample nutrients and light were available. In all three lakes, a new cyanobacterial bloom developed within several weeks after the first H2O2 treatment, and in two lakes a second H2O2 treatment was therefore applied to again suppress the cyanobacterial population. Rotifers strongly declined after most H2O2 treatments except when the H2O2 concentration was ≤ 2 mg L−1, whereas cladocerans were only mildly affected and copepods were least impacted by the added H2O2. In response to the treatments, the cyanotoxins microcystins and anabaenopeptins were released from the cells into the water column, but disappeared after a few days. We conclude that lake treatments with low concentrations of H2O2 can be a successful tool to suppress harmful cyanobacterial blooms, but may negatively affect some of the zooplankton taxa in lakes. We advise pre-tests prior to the treatment of lakes to define optimal treatment concentrations that kill the majority of the cyanobacteria and to minimize potential side effects on non-target organisms. In some cases, the pre-tests may discourage treatment of the lake.

Bloom Forming Cyanobacteria: A Threat to Aquaculture Practice in India

In recent years, due to increase in eutrophication of water bodies, which involves enrichment of plant nutrients, specially phosphorus components, there has been a major shift in phytoplankton community leading towards 'bloom forming' toxic cyanobacteria. These species are capable of producing potentially lethal toxins and have been implicated in numerous instances of fish kills and deaths of domestic livestock. In Darbhanga, three such cases were recorded. Studies revealed a thick cyanobacterial bloom dominated by Microcystis aeruguinosa (7.6 x 10 units/ml) and Anabaena. Other toxic cyanobacterial genera included Nostoc, Oscillatoria, Gleotrichia and Aphanizomenon. Bioassay test was conducted on Channa punctatus. The aliquot was prepared from the cellular sediments collected from thick bloom situation of the respective ponds by lysing the cell walls. All the fish died within 18 hours indicating the sample to be positive. In moribund fish, the symptoms characterising neurotoxic effects of algal poisoning were well marked. In India, the literature, of late, suggests that the physical and chemical qualities of inland water is rapidly changing towards eutrophication due to pollution. As a consequence frequency of the 'toxic-algalblooms' can be expected to increase posing a threat to aquaculture practices.

Shifting responses of phytoplankton to atmospheric and oceanic forcing in a prolonged marine heatwave

AbstractMarine heatwaves are becoming a severe challenge for marine ecosystems. However, current understanding of their impacts on phytoplankton, especially biomass and community structure, is still deficient or fragmentary. Here, we focus on the response of phytoplankton to a prolonged (372 d) marine heatwave in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean in 2015–2016. Despite a similar surface warming throughout the marine heatwave, we found two distinctively different changes in chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration, based on which the marine heatwave was divided into two phases of nearly equal duration. During Phase 1, the Chl a concentration and phytoplankton biomass increased slightly, while during Phase 2 they decreased dramatically, with a marked shift in phytoplankton community toward smaller‐size species. This difference mainly resulted from the change in dominant drivers of the marine heatwave, which shifted from atmospheric forcing (enhanced net air–sea heat flux) in Phase 1 to oceanic process (downwelling Kelvin waves) in Phase 2. The intensified near‐surface stratification and upwelling Kelvin waves led to a slight surface nutrient increase in Phase 1, while the downwelling Kelvin waves suppressed the seasonal upwelling in Phase 2, resulting in a substantial decrease in nutrient supply from the subsurface ocean, and hence dramatic decreases in Chl a concentration and biomass. Our results demonstrate the complex responses of phytoplankton to marine heatwaves and highlight the importance of distinguishing the driving mechanisms of marine heatwaves when evaluating their ecological impacts.

Interaction among spring phytoplankton succession, water discharge patterns, and hydrogen peroxide dynamics in the Caloosahatchee River in southwest Florida

Phytoplankton communities are major primary producers in the aquatic realm and are responsible for shaping aquatic ecosystems. The dynamics of algal blooms could be determined by a succession of variable taxonomic groups, which are altered based on complex environmental factors such as nutrient availability and hydraulic factors. In-river structures potentially increase the occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) by increasing water residence time and deteriorating water quality. How flowing water stimulates cell growth and affects the population dynamics of phytoplankton communities is a prioritized question that needs to be addressed for water management tactics. The goal of this study was to determine if an interaction between water flow and water chemistry is present, furthermore, to determine the relationship among phytoplankton community successions in the Caloosahatchee River, a subtropical river strongly influenced by human-controlled water discharge patterns from Lake Okeechobee. Particularly we focused on how phytoplankton community shifts influence the natural abundance of hydrogen peroxide, the most stable reactive oxygen species and a byproduct of oxidative photosynthesis. High-throughput amplicon sequencing using universal primers amplify 23S rRNA gene in cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algal plastids revealed that Synechococcus and Cyanobium were the dominant cyanobacterial genera and their relative abundance ranged between 19.5 and 95.3% of the whole community throughout the monitoring period. Their relative abundance declined when the water discharge increased. On the contrary, the relative abundance of eukaryotic algae sharply increased after water discharge increased. As water temperature increased in May, initially dominant Dolichospermum decreased as Microcystis increased. When Microcystis declined other filamentous cyanobacteria such as Geitlerinema, Pseudanabaena, and Prochlorothreix increased in their relative abundances. Interestingly, a peak of extracellular hydrogen peroxide was observed when Dolichospermum dominance was ended, and M. aeruginosa numbers increased. Overall, phytoplankton communities were strongly impacted by human-induced water discharge patterns.

Phytoplankton and seston fatty acid dynamics in the northern Bering-Chukchi Sea region

Arctic and subarctic ecosystems are transitioning due to ocean warming, resulting in conditions that will lead to shifts in phytoplankton communities, their nutritional compositions, and production of fatty acids (FAs). FA biomarkers are useful indicators of changing phytoplankton community composition and provide insight into basal resource quality for higher trophic level consumers such as zooplankton, fish, birds and marine mammals, yet phytoplankton FA information is largely lacking from the Bering and Chukchi Sea regions. Therefore, we analyzed suspended particulate matter (seston) FAs, chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and environmental data collected from four surveys in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas, two during June of 2017 and 2018 and two during August and September 2017 and 2019. Our objectives were to determine 1) whether seston FA composition was correlated with phytoplankton taxonomic composition analyzed using imaging microscope (FlowCAM) techniques, 2) if there were seasonal differences in seston FA concentrations, and 3) how FA concentrations varied with environmental variables. We found significant seasonal differences in seston FA compositions, with diatom biomarkers more prevalent in spring, followed by a community shift to dinoflagellate and small flagellate FA biomarkers in late summer. These results were confirmed by FlowCAM analyses. FA biomarkers were correlated with total and large size-fractioned Chl-a concentrations, nitrogen concentration and temperature. Lastly, we used a model framework to predict availability of the diatom-associated essential FA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3). Our analysis provides new information on phytoplankton FA dynamics and the important nutritional role of phytoplankton for higher trophic level consumers in the northern Bering and Chukchi Sea regions.

Effect of dissolved organic nutrients on the bloom of Prorocentrum donghaiense in the East China Sea coastal waters

Prorocentrum donghaiense blooms occur annually in the East China Sea coastal waters, degrading ecosystem functions and impeding economic development. Dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorus (DON and DOP) are the main components in the marine nutrient pools and are closely related to harmful algal blooms. From April to June 2019, a survey was conducted along the East China Sea coast (Sansha and Lianjiang counties) to investigate the relationship between dissolved organic nutrients and P. donghaiense bloom. Our findings showed that dinoflagellates dominated the phytoplankton community, and dissolved organic nutrients were the major factors influencing community structure during the P. donghaiense bloom. Redundancy analysis indicated that P. donghaiense abundance was primarily affected by DON in the Sansha area while it was primarily affected by DON and DOP in the Lianjiang area. Correlation analysis also confirmed a strong positive correlation between dissolved organic nutrients and P. donghaiense abundance both in the Sansha and Lianjiang coastal areas (p < 0.001). Furthermore, a culture experiment was carried out during the bloom to further investigate the effect of dissolved organic nutrients on the phytoplankton community structure. After 10 days of culture, dinoflagellates' relative abundance decreased from 97.1% to 28.2% in the inorganic treatment, whereas dinoflagellates continued to dominate the phytoplankton community in the organic treatment (76.9%). As a result, we propose that dissolved organic nutrients are responsible for the P. donghaiense bloom outbreak and promote the phytoplankton community shift from diatoms to dinoflagellates.

Declining metal availability in the Mesozoic seawater reflected in phytoplankton succession

Variable trace metal concentrations in the Precambrian ocean were closely linked to oxygen availability, although less is known about the drivers of seawater trace metal chemistry after the spread of complex life into the Phanerozoic eon. A major phytoplankton succession took place at the transition from the Palaeozoic to the Mesozoic era (~250 Myr ago), from an ocean dominated by the green Archaeplastida to secondary endosymbiotic algae with red-algal-derived plastids. Here, our comparative genomic analysis of 26 complete proteomes and metal domain analysis of additional 608 partially complete sequences of phytoplankton reveal that groups with different evolutionary history have distinct metal-binding proteins and contrasting metal acquisition strategies, adapted to differing availability of trace metals. The secondary-endosymbiont-bearing lineages are better adapted to well-oxygenated, nutrient-poor environments. This is supported by an enhanced thiol-based binding affinity of their transporters, coupled with minimized proteomic requirement for trace elements such as iron, copper and zinc at both protein and domain levels. Such different metal requirements across these lineages suggest a drastic decline in open-ocean trace metal concentrations at the inception of the Mesozoic, contributing to the shifts in phytoplankton communities that drove major changes in ocean chemical buffering.

Composition and Distribution of Plankton Communities in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean

In recent decades, the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding region have undergone a significant transformation due to global climate change affecting the structure and distribution of pelagic fauna. Here, we present the results of our study on the taxonomic composition and quantitative distribution of plankton communities in Bransfield Strait, Antarctic Sound, the Powell Basin of the Weddell Sea, and the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula and South Orkney Islands during the austral summer of 2022. A slight warming of the Transitional Zonal Water with Weddell Sea influence (TWW) and an increase in its distribution area was detected. Among the pelagic communities, three groups were found to be the most abundant: copepods Calanoides acutus, Metridia gerlachei, and Oithona spp., salpa Salpa thompsoni, and Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. Euphausiids were found in cases of low abundance, species diversity, and biomass. In the studied region, an increase in the amount of the salpa S. thompsoni and the euphausiid Thysanoessa macrura and the expansion of their distribution area were observed. Significant structural shifts in phytoplankton communities manifested themselves in changes in the structure of the Antarctic krill forage base. The composition and distribution of pelagic fauna is affected by a combination of environmental abiotic factors, of which water temperature is the main one. The obtained results have allowed us to assume that a further increase in ocean temperature may lead to a reduction in the number and size of the Antarctic krill population and its successive replacement by salps and other euphausiids that are more resistant to temperature fluctuations and water desalination.

Spatiotemporal variability in bio-optical characteristics of the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean during boreal summer: Biophysical influences

The bio-optical characteristics of the surface ocean play a pivotal role in radiative transfer and photosynthetic carbon fixation. To examine spatiotemporal variability of bio-optical properties in the tropical Indian Ocean, a 10-day time-series comparative study was made at one fixed and 3 variable stations in the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean (SWTIO), and 4-stations in the Equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) during June 2014. A total of 24 hyperspectral radiometer profiles were collected along with physicochemical parameters and phytoplankton pigments analysis. A negative sea level anomaly (SLA), higher precipitation, a more stable mixed layer, and higher buoyancy frequency (N2) were observed in SWTIO compared to EIO. The deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) in SWTIO were characterised by deep biomass maxima (DBM) whereas in the EIO it was due to deep photoacclimation maxima (DAM). The photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) profiles were obtained by integrating downwelling irradiance from 400 to 700 nm suggesting that the SWTIO had a greater abundance of optically active substances (OAS) than the EIO. Surface chlorophyll a (Chl-a) was found to have significant relationships with phytoplankton absorption coefficient (aph(443)). Chl-a-specific phytoplankton absorption coefficients (a*ph(443)), total absorption coefficient (at(443)), and particulate backscattering (bbp(555)) were also related to Chl-a implying that the phytoplankton was in growth/active phase. The time-series variability of the phytoplankton and changes in the photosynthetic pigments (PSP) to photoprotective pigments (PPP) ratio at SWTIO suggested phytoplankton community shift during 5th to 7th days. Microplankton percent-abundances showed distinct linear relationships with Chl-a and bbp(555) implying that carbon fixation per unit Chl-a was higher in microplankton than in nano and picoplankton at SWTIO. The in situ Chl-a, aph(443), adg(443), Kd(490) and C¯pd were used to validate the various empirical algorithms available as well as the satellite-retrieved data. The MODIS and VIIRS data correlated moderately. This study would help towards improving regional optimized algorithms for OAS and provide a baseline understanding of the scale of variability of primary production and carbon flux from space. In addition, this would contribute valuable bio-optical data from an under-sampled geographical area.

Phytoplankton community shift in response to experimental Cu addition at the elevated CO2 levels (Arabian Sea, winter monsoon).

Understanding phytoplankton community shifts under multiple stressors is becoming increasingly important. Among other combinations of stressors, the impact of trace metal toxicity on marine phytoplankton under the ocean acidification scenario is an important aspect to address. Such multiple stressor studies are rare from the Arabian Sea, one of the highest productive oceanic provinces within the North Indian Ocean. We studied the interactive impacts of copper (Cu) and CO2 enrichment on two natural phytoplankton communities from the eastern and central Arabian Sea. Low dissolved silicate (DSi < 2µM) favoured smaller diatoms (e.g. Nitzschia sp.) and non-diatom (Phaeocystis). CO2 enrichment caused both positive (Nitzschia sp. and Phaeocystis sp.) and negative (Cylindrotheca closterium, Navicula sp., Pseudo-nitzschia sp., Alexandrium sp., and Gymnodinium sp.) growth impacts. The addition of Cu under the ambient CO2 level (A-CO2) hindered cell division in most of the species, whereas Chla contents were nearly unaffected. Interestingly, CO2 enrichment seemed to alleviate Cu toxicity in some species (Nitzschia sp., Cylindrotheca closterium, Guinardia flaccida, and Phaeocystis) and increased their growth rates. This could be related to the cellular Cu demand and energy budget at elevated CO2 levels. Dinoflagellates were more sensitive to Cu supply compared to diatoms and prymnesiophytes and could be related to the unavailability of prey. Such community shifts in response to the projected ocean acidification, oligotrophy, and Cu pollution may impact trophic transfer and carbon cycling in this region.

Phytoplankton growth and community shift over a short-term high-CO2 simulation experiment from the southwestern shelf of India, Eastern Arabian Sea(summer monsoon).

The southwestern shelf water of India (eastern Arabian Sea) experiences high seasonality. This area is one of the understudied regions in terms of phytoplankton response to the projected ocean acidification, particularly, during the summer monsoon when phytoplankton abundance is high. Here we present the results of a short-term simulated ocean acidification experiment (ambient CO2 424 µatm; high CO2, 843, 1138 µatm) on the natural phytoplankton assemblages conducted onboard (R. V. Sindhu Sadhana) during the summer monsoon (Aug 2017). Among the dissolved inorganic nutrients, dissolved silicate (DSi) and nitrate + nitrite levels were quite low (< 2µM). Phytoplankton biomass did not show any net enhancement after the incubation in any treatment. Both marker pigment analysis and microscopy revealed the dominance of diatoms in the phytoplankton community, and a significant restructuring was noticed over the experimental period. Divinyl chlorophylla (DVChla) containing picocyanobacteria and 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (19'HF) containing prymnesiophytes did not show any noticeable change in response to CO2 enrichment. A CO2-induced positive growth response was noticed in some diatoms (Guinardia flaccida, Cylindrotheca closterium, and Pseudo-nitzschia sp.) and dinoflagellates (Protoperidinium sp. and Peridinium sp.) indicating their efficiency to quickly acclimatize at elevated CO2 levels. This is important to note that the positive growth response of toxigenic pennate diatoms like Pseudo-nitzschia as well as a few dinoflagellates at elevated CO2 levels can be expected in the future-ocean scenario. The proliferation of such non-palatable phytoplankton may impact grazing, the food chain, and carbon cycling in this region.

Bacterial Metabolic Response to Change in Phytoplankton Communities and Resultant Effects on Carbon Cycles in the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica

We investigated changes in heterotrophic bacterial metabolic activities and associated carbon cycles in response to a change in dominant phytoplankton communities during two contrasting environmental conditions in austral summer in the Amundsen Sea polynya (ASP), Antarctica: the closed polynya condition in 2014 (ANA04) and the open polynya condition in 2016 (ANA06). In ANA04, Phaeocystis antarctica predominated phytoplankton biomass, comprising 78% of total phytoplankton carbon biomass, whereas diatoms and Dictyocha speculum accounted for 45% and 48% of total phytoplankton carbon biomass, respectively, in ANA06. Bacterial production (BP) showed a significant positive correlation with only chlorophyll-a (Chl-a, rho = 0.66, p &amp;lt; 0.001) in P. antarctica-dominated ANA04, whereas there were significant positive relationships of BP with various organic carbon pools, such as chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM, rho = 0.84, p &amp;lt; 0.001), Chl-a (rho = 0.59, p &amp;lt; 0.001), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC, rho = 0.51, p = 0.001), in ANA06 when diatoms and D. speculum co-dominated. These results indicate that BP depended more on DOC directly released from P. antarctica in ANA04, but was supported by DOC derived from various food web processes in the diatom-dominated system in ANA06. The BP to primary production (BP : PP) ratio was three-fold higher in P. antarctica-dominated ANA04 (BP: PP = 0.09), than in diatom- and D. speculum-co-dominated ANA06 (BP : PP = 0.03). These results suggested that the microbial loop is more significant in Phaeocystis-dominated conditions than in diatom-dominated conditions. In addition, the decreases in BP : PP ratio and bacterial respiration with increasing diatom proportion in the surface mixed layer indicated that the change from P. antarctica to diatom predominance enhanced biological carbon pump function by increasing particulate organic carbon export efficiency. Consequently, our results suggest that bacterial metabolic response to shifts in phytoplankton communities could ultimately affect larger-scale ecological and biogeochemical processes in the water column of the ASP.

The synergistic effect of rising temperature and declining light boosts the dominance of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in spring

Global warming and eutrophication result in rising temperature and declining underwater light, respectively, which affect the shift of the phytoplankton community in spring. However, knowledge of how temperature and light synergistically impact phytoplankton community shifts and cyanobacterial dominance is limited. In this study, we performed a long-term data analysis and an outdoor mesocosm experiment to detect the synergistic effect of temperature and light on shift of phytoplankton community and dominance of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in Lake Taihu, China. The results showed that cyanobacterial biomass was boosted alone and jointly by increased temperature and decreased light levels (sunshine hours and light intensity), and the interaction might be more important than temperature or light levels independently. Chlorophyta biomass was driven by the joint effect of temperature and light levels. Bacillariophyta biomass was mainly affected by light levels, and decreased with declining light levels. Our results emphasize that the interactions of temperature and light have an important impact on the shift of the phytoplankton community in spring. Increasing temperature and declining underwater light boosted the flourishing of cyanobacteria, especially Microcystis, and were adverse to the development of diatoms in spring. Our findings contribute to an increased understanding of the effects of temperature and light on phytoplankton composition shifts and the development of cyanobacterial dominance in spring.

Daily Samples Revealing Shift in Phytoplankton Community and Its Environmental Drivers during Summer in Qinhuangdao Coastal Area, China

Rapid urbanization and economic development in coastal regions have significantly increased coastal nutrient pollution and remarkably changed the phytoplankton community and developed some species into bloom, resulting in large economic losses and serious threats to public health. Therefore, it is indispensable to reveal the shift in the phytoplankton community and phytoplankton abundance, and phytoplankton’s environmental drivers. However, previous studies could not present the details of the environmental drivers of phytoplankton due to samples being collected with low temporal resolution. Here, high-temporal-resolution (daily) samples were collected to investigate the influence of environmental factors on phytoplankton in Qinhuangdao for 44 days. Phytoplankton communities showed a rapid succession, with predominant genera changing in the order Skeletonema–Chaetoceros–Skeletonema–Thalassiosira. Similarly, Thalassiosira pacifica, Skeletonema costatum, Chaetoceros tortissimus, and Chattonella marina were identified as the dominant species and were abundant in 0–1.27 × 107 cells·L−1, 0–9.34 × 106 cells·L−1, 0–6.49 × 106 cells·L−1, and 0–3.64 × 106 cells·L−1, respectively. Moreover, inflows facilitate the rapid succession of the phytoplankton community. Dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) was found to remarkably influence the succession of phytoplankton communities and the bloom of the top three dominant species, i.e., Thalassiosira pacifica, Skeletonema costatum, and Chaetoceros tortissimus. Overall, our results provide high-temporal-resolution observations of phytoplankton community succession and reveal its environmental drivers. This contributes to our current understanding of the occurrence of algae blooms and supports the development of management strategies to control algae bloom in coastal waters.

Phytoplankton community structure of Tang-Pu Reservoir: status and ecological assessment in relation to physicochemical variability.

Seasonal variation in phytoplankton community structure within Tang-Pu Reservoir (Shaoxing city, Zhejiang province, China) was investigated in relation to variation in physicochemical and hydrological characteristics. Over the three-study seasons (autumn, winter, and spring), phytoplankton abundance and biomass showed a gradual increase with the peak in spring season. During this study period, phytoplankton community comprised of 7 phyla, 80 genera, and 210 species. The dominating phyla were Chlorophyta 80 species, Bacillariophyta 46, and Cyanophyta 44 as well as other phyla of freshwater ecosystems except Xanthophyta. The phytoplankton density and biomass varied in the six sampling sites between a minimum of 257.42 × 104 cells/L to 1054.15 × 104 cells/L and 1.60mg/L to 4.56mg/L respectively. Spring season had higher biomass and density values than autumn and winter. Furthermore, the results indicated that the Shannon-Wiener (H') and Pielou evenness (J') indices of phytoplankton community were stable although with slightly higher values in spring. Based on the calculated indices, Tang-Pu reservoir could be considered mesosaprobic in all the three seasons. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that pH, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), transparency, chlorophyll a (Chl a), dissolve oxygen (DO), and water temperature (WT) were responsible for most phytoplankton community shift from Bacillariophyta and Cryptophyta to Cyanophyta and Chlorophyta in spring. These environmental parameters play an essential role in the community structure variation of phytoplankton in the downstream and upstream of Tang-Pu Reservoir. A decreasing phytoplankton abundance trend from the river area (inlet) to the lake (outlet) was also observed.

Tropical macrophytes promote phytoplankton community shifts in lake mesocosms: relevance for lake restoration in warm climates

Tropical macrophytes promote phytoplankton community shifts in lake mesocosms: relevance for lake restoration in warm climates

Effects of a Light Crude Oil Spill on a Tropical Coastal Phytoplankton Community.

Oiling scenarios following spills vary in concentration and usually can affect large coastal areas. Consequently, this research evaluated different crude oil concentrations (10, 40, and 80mgL-1) on the nearshore phytoplanktonic community in the southern Gulf of Mexico. This experiment was carried out for ten days using eight units of 2500L each; factors monitored included shifts in phytoplankton composition, physicochemical parameters and the culturable bacterial abundance of heterotrophic and hydrocarbonoclastic groups. The temperature, salinity, and nutrient concentrations measured were within the ranges previously reported for Yucatan Peninsula waters. The total hydrocarbon concentration (TPH) in the control at T0 indicated the presence of hydrocarbons (PAHs 0.80μgL-1, aliphatics 7.83μgL-1 and UCM 184.09μgL-1). At T0, the phytoplankton community showed a similar assemblage structure and composition in all treatments. At T10, the community composition remained heterogeneous in the control, in agreement with previous reports for the area. However, for oiled treatments, Bacillariophyceae dominated at T10. Hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria were associated with oiled treatments throughout the experiment, while heterotrophic bacteria were associated with control conditions. Our results agreed with previous works at the taxonomic level showing the presence of Bacillariophyceae and Dinophyceae in oil-related treatments, where these groups showed the major interactions in co-occurrence networks. In contrast, Chlorophyceae showed the key node in the co-occurrence network for the control. This study aims to contribute to knowledge on phytoplankton community shifts during a crude oil spill in subtropical oligotrophic regions.

A kernel‐based change detection method to map shifts in phytoplankton communities measured by flow cytometry

Abstract Automated, ship‐board flow cytometers provide high‐resolution maps of phytoplankton composition over large swaths of the world's oceans. They therefore pave the way for understanding how environmental conditions shape community structure. Identification of community changes along a cruise transect commonly segments the data into distinct regions. However, existing segmentation methods are generally not applicable to flow cytometry data, as these data are recorded as ‘point cloud’ data, with hundreds or thousands of particles measured during each time interval. Moreover, nonparametric segmentation methods that do not rely on prior knowledge of the number of species are desirable to map community shifts. We present CytoSegmenter, a kernel‐based change‐point estimation method for segmenting point cloud data. Our method allows us to represent and summarize a point cloud of data points by a single element in a Hilbert space. The change‐point locations can be found using a fast dynamic programming algorithm. Through an analysis of 12 cruises, we demonstrate that CytoSegmenter allows us to locate abrupt changes in phytoplankton community structure. We show that the changes in community structure generally coincide with changes in the temperature and salinity of the ocean. We also illustrate how the main parameter of CytoSegmenter can be easily calibrated using limited auxiliary annotated data. CytoSegmenter is generally applicable for segmenting series of point cloud data from any domain. Moreover, it readily scales to thousands of point clouds, each containing thousands of points. In the context of flow cytometry data collected during research cruises, it does not require prior clustering of particles to define taxa labels, eliminating a potential source of error. This represents an important advance in automating the analysis of large datasets now emerging in biological oceanography and other fields. It also allows for the approach to be applied during research cruises.

Seasonal variations and driving factors of phytoplankton community shift in Datun Lake with long-term stress of arsenic contamination.

Heavy metal is an important environmental stress that threatens water quality and ecological health of surface waters. Therefore, it is vital to identify the responses of lake community to long-term pollution for sustainable ecological restoration of polluted lakes. From June 2017 to March 2018, we conducted a seasonal survey of phytoplankton and environmental factors in Datun Lake, which had a decadal history of tailing-related arsenic contamination. Consistent with results from previous studies, phytoplankton were dominated by As-tolerant taxa such as Cyanophyta. Results of the analysis of similarities and analysis of variance showed that there were significant temporal variations in phytoplankton community structure and biomass, but without spatial variation. Results of the Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that the total phytoplankton biomass was positively related to lake-water soluble orthophosphate and arsenic, which was consistent with the differential effect of arsenic on algae growth (e.g. promotion at low concentration and suppression at high concentration). The increases of phosphate might alleviate the toxic impacts of arsenic on phytoplankton. Redundancy analysis showed that the soluble nutrients and arsenic were significant factors driving phytoplankton community variations. The results of variation partitioning demonstrated that nutrients and water temperature explained 17.6% and 3.8% of community variations, respectively, with strong interaction with arsenic (15.1%). Arsenic did not affect phytoplankton community assembly, indicating that the dominant algae were tolerant to arsenic and thus highly insensitive to the arsenic stress. Therefore, the seasonal variations of phytoplankton dominated by As-tolerant algae in Datun demonstrated that the low-As promotion effect on phytoplankton should be considered in ecological restoration of polluted lakes.