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Phytoplankton succession in recurrently fluctuating environments
Daniel L Roelke1, Sofie Spatharis2
1Texas A&M University, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, and Department of Oceanography, 2258 TAMUS, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
Plos One
|March 25, 2015
Summary
Sudden nutrient supply changes cause alternating phytoplankton succession, while gradual changes create mirror-image patterns. Human activities altering these transitions impact coastal ecosystems and their dependent species.
Area of Science:
- Marine ecology
- Biogeochemistry
- Phytoplankton dynamics
Background:
- Coastal systems exhibit seasonal biogeochemical and physical variations impacting phytoplankton growth.
- Human activities like water management can alter natural resource loading transitions.
- The influence of these altered transitions on phytoplankton succession remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how different modes of nutrient loading reversal affect phytoplankton succession using a multispecies, multi-nutrient model.
- To explore the ecological implications of varying nutrient supply dynamics in coastal marine environments.
Main Methods:
- Employed a multispecies, multi-nutrient model incorporating Monod-relationship for growth rate and Liebig's Law for nutrient limitation.
- Integrated population loss factors, such as hydraulic displacement, to characterize species' niches via the R* conceptual model.
- Simulated sudden and gradual reversals in resource supply concentrations.
Main Results:
- Sudden resource supply reversals led to alternating phytoplankton succession, similar to patterns observed in temperate inland waters.
- Gradual resource supply reversals resulted in mirror-image phytoplankton succession patterns, a novel finding for plankton systems.
- The mode of nutrient supply reversal significantly influenced phytoplankton community dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Nutrient loading switching mode profoundly affects phytoplankton succession in coastal marine systems.
- Changes in human activities may shift coastal ecosystems from alternating to mirror-image phytoplankton succession.
- Altered phytoplankton succession has critical implications for ecosystems reliant on time-sensitive processes like spawning and migration.
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