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Experiments on mixotrophic protists and catastrophic darkness.

Harriet Jones1, Charles S Cockell, Claire Goodson

  • 1School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ UK. harriet.jones@uea.ac.uk

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Mixotrophs, organisms capable of photosynthesis and heterotrophy, can survive prolonged darkness and low light conditions. Their ability to switch feeding strategies enhances survival and supports food chains after catastrophic darkening events.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Microbiology
  • Paleontology

Background:

  • Catastrophic events like asteroid impacts and volcanic eruptions can cause prolonged darkness, drastically reducing sunlight in aquatic ecosystems.
  • Previous research on phototroph survival in darkness focused on single strains, neglecting the ecological interactions in mixed cultures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the survival and growth of freshwater and marine mixotrophs under simulated catastrophic darkening conditions.
  • To assess the role of mixotrophs in supporting other phototrophs during and after periods of low light.

Main Methods:

  • Laboratory experiments exposing isolated and mixed cultures of mixotrophs to 6 months of darkness.
  • Evaluating mixotroph survival, growth, feeding rates on dissolved organic carbon, and their impact on obligate phototrophs under low light.

Main Results:

  • Mixotrophs demonstrated resilience, surviving 6 months of complete darkness.
  • Some mixotroph species utilized dissolved organic carbon, enhancing their feeding rates.
  • In mixed cultures, mixotrophs improved the survival and growth of obligate phototrophs at low light levels.

Conclusions:

  • Mixotrophs play a crucial role in the resilience of the photosynthetic biosphere during catastrophic darkening events.
  • Their ability to switch from photosynthesis to heterotrophy allows survival and continued contribution to food webs.
  • Findings have implications for understanding past mass extinction events and future climate change scenarios.