Edited by: Jun Sun, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, China
Reviewed by: Oscar E. Romero, University of Bremen, Germany; Haocai Huang, Zhejiang University, China
*Correspondence: Isabel Baños,
This article was submitted to Marine Biogeochemistry, a section of the journal Frontiers in Marine Science
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Climate change is expected to alter the intensity and frequency of upwelling in high productive coastal regions, thus impacting nutrient fluxes, primary productivity and consequently carbon cycling. However, it is unknown how these changes will impact the planktonic (phytoplankton and bacteria) community structure, which affects community respiration (CR) and hence the carbon available for sequestration or transfer to upper trophic levels. Here we present results from a 37-day mesocosm experiment where we examined the response of CR to nutrient additions by simulating upwelling events at different intensities (low, medium, high and extreme) and modes (singular and recurring additions). We also analysed the potential contribution of different plankton size classes and functional groups to CR. The trend in accumulated CR with respect to nutrient fertilisation (total nitrogen added during the experiment) was linear in the two modes. Microplankton (mostly diatoms) and nanoplankton (small flagellates) dominated under extreme upwelling intensities and high CR in both singular and recurring upwelling modes, explaining >65% of the observed variability in CR. In contrast, prokaryotic picoplankton (heterotrophic bacteria and autotrophic cyanobacteria) explained <43% of the variance in CR under the rest of the upwelling intensities and modes tested. Changes in planktonic community structure, while modulating CR variability, would regulate the metabolic balance of the ecosystem, shifting it towards net-heterotrophy when the community is dominated by small heterotrophs and to net-autotrophy when large autotrophs prevail; although depending on the mode in which nutrients are supplied to the system. This shift in the dominance of planktonic organism will hence affect not only CR but also carbon sequestration in upwelling regions
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Coastal upwelling regions are among the most productive ecosystems in the ocean (
Mesocosm approaches have been widely used over the last decade to simulate climate change scenarios and assess the effects of multiple stressors such as warming or acidification on marine planktonic communities (e.g.,
Between November and December 2018 (37 days in total) a mesocosms experiment was conducted in Gando Bay (Canary Islands, 27°55.673´ N, 15°21.870´ W) as part of the Ocean artUp project. Nine ~44 m3 mesocosms (Kiel Off-Shore Mesocosms for future Ocean Simulations or KOSMOS;
Mesocosm water samples for community respiration measurements were pre-filtered through a 250 µm mesh and carefully siphoned using a silicone tube into four replicate “time-zero” and four replicate “dark” 125 mL borosilicate bottles. Dark bottles were incubated in an outdoor pool at seawater temperature (~20.7-21.5°C) for ~24 h. CR was determined by oxygen consumption measured by the Winkler technique, following the recommendations of
Samples for phytoplankton community composition were filtered onto 0.7 μm pore size glass fiber filters under low pressure (200 mbar, Whatman GF/F, Maidstone, UK). Filters were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and subsequently stored at -80°C until analysis. Prior to analysis, samples were mixed with 0.5 mm glass beads and 1.3 mL of 100% high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) grade acetone and extracted in a homogenizer. Then, they were centrifuged (10 min, 4°C, 10000 rpm) and the supernatant removed with a syringe and filtered through a PTFE filter (0.2 μm pore size). Photosynthetic pigments were analyzed through reverse-phase HPLC (Thermo Scientific). The relative contribution to Chla of different phytoplankton classes was calculated using the CHEMTAX algorithm developed by
The biomass of different phytoplankton groups was estimated by transforming their estimated individual chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration to carbon using conversion ratios (g/g) from
Seawater samples were fixed with 50 μL of 20% paraformaldehyde (2% final concentration), kept in darkness at 4°C for 30 min and subsequently preserved at -80°C. Heterotrophic bacterial abundance was determined using a FACSCalibur flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson) equipped with an air cooled blue (488nm) argon laser. Briefly, frozen samples were thawed and a 400 μL subsample stained with SYBR Green I (Invitrogen) at room temperature for 15 min. Heterotrophic bacteria were identified in a plot of side scatter (SSC) versus green fluorescence (FL1). Samples were run at low flow rate (22 μL min-1). A suspension of yellow-green 1 μm latex beads (~105 - 106 beads mL-1) was added as an internal standard (Polysciences, Inc., Warrington, PA, Unites States). Heterotrophic bacterial biomass was estimated by multiplying their abundance by a conversion factor (18 fgC cell-1) obtained empirically in coastal waters off Gran Canaria (Montero et al. unpublished).
To assess the effect of upwelling intensity and mode on CR rates a linear mixed-effects (LME) model was applied using “treatment” and “day of experiment” as categorical variables, and “treatment” as a random factor. CR rates were compared by the Dunnet´s test after inspection of normality and homogeneity of the variance. LME models were applied using the
CR rates ranged between 19.6 (on average for all mesocosms at the beginning of the experiment) to 292.2 mg O2 m-3 d-1 in the singular addition extreme treatment (day 13) and 229.5 mg O2 m-3 d-1 in the recurring addition extreme treatment (day 35) (
Temporal development of plankton community respiration (CR). The solid black line indicates the first deep-water addition (except in the control). The dotted black lines indicate the addition made only to the recurring treatment.
CR rates differed significantly among upwelling modes and intensities (LME model, p<0.005), reaching the highest values in the extreme intensity treatments. In the singular upwelling mode, CR rates increased after day 4 and peaked on day 7, 9 and 13 for low, medium and extreme intensities, respectively. The magnitude of this response increased with upwelling intensity. Following the peak, CR rates decreased and remained relatively constant until the end of the experiment. In contrast, the recurring mode showed a gradual rise in CR rates according to the intensity of the simulated upwelling with some fluctuations until the end of the experiment. In the extreme treatment of the recurring mode, CR rates dropped on day 19 and remained fairly constant until day 31 and increased again from day 33 to day 35, due to the development of a Prymnesiophyceae bloom (see section 3.2). Overall, maximum CR rates were observed on day 35 in all recurring intensities, diminishing at the end of the experiment (day 37), except in the low recurring mode treatment where it remained rather constant.
Cumulative community respiration (CRcum) evolved differently in the various treatments from day 7 onwards (
The different upwelling modes and intensities impacted the contribution of different planktonic groups to total community biomass (
Relative contribution of plankton community composition (represented as size fractions: Pico-, Nano- and Microplankton) over the course of the experiment. Picoplankton: heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria; Nanoplankton: prasynophyceae, chlorophyceae, cryptophyceae, chrysophyceae and prymnesiophyceae; Microplankton: dinophyceae and diatomea. The solid black line indicates the first deep-water addition (except in the control). The dotted black lines indicate the addition made only to the recurring treatment. Panels
The contribution of picoplankton to total community biomass was higher in the control and in the low and medium recurring treatments (
Different plankton groups contributed to explaining the variance observed in CR, as revealed by the stepwise multiple regression analysis performed with the biomass of plankton groups and CR during the experiment (
Stepwise multiple linear regression statistics between plankton community respiration (CR) with the biomasses of heterotrophic bacteria (Het. bacteria) and the different phytoplankton groups (Cyanobacteria, Prasynophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Chrysophyceae and Prymnesiophyceae, Diatoms and Dinoflagellates), under the different upwelling modes and intensities, compared to the control (no upwelling).
Upwelling mode | Upwelling intensity | Xi | R2 adjust | pvalue | F statistic | RI(%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Extreme | DiatomsChlorophyceaeCryptophyceae | 0.747 | <0.001 | 17.72 | 46.6239.9113.47 |
High | CryptophyceaeCyanobacteriaDinoflagellatesPrymnesiophyceaeHet.bacteriaChlorophyceae | 0.790 | <0.001 | 10.4 | 25.9622.4914.7112.5712.2612.01 | |
Medium | DinoflagellatesCyanobacteriaDiatomsHet. bacteria | 0.647 | <0.01 | 8.32 | 36.0526.612116.33 | |
Low | ChlorophyceaePrymnesiophyceaeCyanobacteriaChrysophyceae | 0.578 | <0.01 | 6.48 | 44.7836.1912.696.34 | |
|
DinoflagellatesHet.bacteriaChlorophyceaePrymnesiophyceaeDiatoms | 0.598 | <0.05 | 4.72 | 48.3017.1817.138.718.66 | |
|
Extreme | DiatomsCryptophyceaePrymnesiophyceae | 0.923 | <0.0001 | 69.26 | 36.8037.8025.41 |
Medium | DiatomsHet.bacteriaDinoflagellatesCryptophyceaeChlorophyceae | 0.876 | <0.0001 | 23.71 | 41.6624.5013.9713.526.34 | |
Low | PrymnesiophyceaeHet.bacteriaDinoflagellatesCryptophyceae | 0.484 | <0.05 | 4.51 | 48.4632.5012.047 |
Xi, statistically significant predictor variables; R2 adjust, adjusted correlation coefficient; RI(%), percentage of the variance explained by each group.
Here, we tested the effects of different simulated-upwelling modes and intensities in a longer (37-day) experiment and found that CR varied significantly among upwelling modes and intensities (LME model, p<0.005,
Following the initial nutrient fertilization on day 4, the temporal variability in CR displayed two distinguishable patterns according to the upwelling modes. Singular treatments induced an abrupt increase in CR rates, reaching their maximum values between days 7 and 13, a few days after the deep-water addition. In contrast, recurring treatments provoked a gradual boost in CR, which reached its maximum rates towards the end of the experiment (day 35). The mode in which upwelling events release nutrients into oligotrophic waters, either through singular or recurring pulses, can consequently modulate CR in the short- or long-term, respectively.
Interestingly, a different timing in the response of CR to nutrient fertilisation was observed under the singular treatments, showing a lag of between 5 and 9 days depending on the simulated-upwelling intensity. These results were also observed in another mesocosm experiment conducted at the same location (
The effect of upwelling modes and intensities on CR are also evident from the trend of CRcum along the experiment (
Our results reveal that changes in CRcum during different simulated upwelling events could therefore be attributed to the ways different plankton community structures responded to changes of upwelling modes and intensities. In the following sections, we describe the plankton functional groups that potentially accounted for the observed variance in CR and how these can affect the metabolic balance and therefore, carbon sequestration of upwelling regions.
Diatoms bloomed in the extreme treatments, accounting for up to 75% of the total biomass (
Contrary to expectations (e.g.,
A previous study carried out along two latitudinal transects from 50°N to 44°S in the Atlantic Ocean showed that the contribution of bacteria to CR is highly variable (4-77%), suggesting that Chl-a and other factors rather than those assessed in that study (such as nutrient availability and temperature) must be driving such variability (
The planktonic community structure, while modulating CR variability, would display a key role in regulating the metabolic balance of the ecosystem, shifting it towards net-heterotrophy when the planktonic community is dominated by small heterotrophs and to net-autotrophy when large autotrophs prevail (
We studied the link between the variability in community respiration rates and shifts in the planktonic community structure under different modes and intensities of simulated upwelling over a long term (37 days) mesocosm experiment. Our results suggest that CR is particularly sensitive to changes in the upwelling intensities but more significantly to the mode in which nutrients are supplied to the oligotrophic waters. The simulated upwelling events in this study were responsible for profound modifications in planktonic community structure, which in turn acted as a strong driver of CR variability, modulating the carbon respired through the different microbial functional groups. Thus, as upwelling intensity became extreme, planktonic communities were entirely dominated by microplankton (mainly diatoms) and nanoplankton. Particularly in the singular mode, the extreme simulated-upwelling intensity reported the highest CR rates coinciding with a bloom of diatoms, giving evidence of the strong link between the autotrophic component and the observed variance in CR.
On the contrary, less pronounced intensities favoured smaller cells (heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria) identified as better predictors of the variance in CR, potentially channelling a more significant fraction of carbon through the microbial food web. Nonetheless, the contribution to biomass of picoplankton was variable, presumably due to grazing or viral pressure, affecting their contribution to CR.
Our results offer insights into how future alterations in the modes and intensities of upwelling systems can potentially shift the planktonic community structure, affecting CR and therefore, the metabolic balance of the system. Thus, when the type of planktonic community is dominated by small heterotrophs the system shifts toward net-heterotrophy while net-autotrophy is observed when autotrophic-based communities prevailed. This highlights the importance of such changes in the carbon sequestration of upwelling regions. Understanding the link between respiratory losses and planktonic communities is a fundamental requisite to improving our predictive capacity of how these ecosystems will respond to future global change scenarios.
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
Conceived and designed the study: UR and JA. Execution of the experiment: all authors. Data analysis: IB, JA, MB, JO and KS. Manuscript writing: IB and JA with input from all co-authors. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
This study was carried out within the framework of the Ocean Artificial Upwelling project (Ocean artUp, No. 695094), funded by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council (ERC). Additional support was provided through projects TRIATLAS (AMD-817578-5) from the European Union’s Horizon 2020, FONIAC 2019 (Fundación Caja Canarias and Fundación Bancaria La Caixa), and e-IMPACT (PID2019-109084RB-C2) funded by the Spanish National Science Plan. IB is supported by a FPI fellowship (BES-2016-078407) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO). MGL is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España (FPU17-01435) during his PhD. JA was supported by a Helmholtz International Fellow Award, 2015 (Helmholtz Association, Germany). JA also acknowledges support from the United States National Science Foundation grant OCE-1840868 to the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR, United States) WG 155.
We would like to thank the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias, PLOCAN) for their support throughout the experiment. We would like to thank the captain and crew of RV James Cook for the deployment of the mesocosms and the deep water collection, and the captain and crew of the vessel J. SOCAS for helping with the second deep water collection and the recovery of the mesocosms. Another special thanks goes to the whole KOSMOS team (GEOMAR) for their invaluable effort, organization and logistical support necessary to conduct the mesocosms experiment. Finally, we would like to thank to Minerva Espino and Acorayda González for their contribution to the CR measurements.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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