Ultraviolet-B radiation stress alters the competitive outcome of algae: Based on analyzing population dynamics and...

The solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB) is increasingly affecting the aquatic ecosystems due to the long-term antropic damage to the stratospheric ozone. The distrupted interspecies competition is one of the primary causes driving the plankton community composition shifts under UVB stress. To reveal the competitive responses to enhanced UVB radiation, we grew two green algae Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella pyrenoidosa, and the unicellular cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa in monocultures and in cocultures under differerent UVB intensities (0, 0.3 and 0.7 W m^-2), respectively. Results showed that elevated UVB radiation consistently decreased the population carrying capacies and the photosynthesis of the three species in monocultures. While cocultivated, C. pyrenoidosa was competively excluded by the presence of S. obliquus, and the competitive outcome was not affected by UVB exposure. By contrast, unicellular M. aeruginosa overwhelmingly suppressed the population growth of S. obliquus under no UVB, yet S. obliquus tended to be a better competitor under 0.3-0.7 W m^-2 UVB exposure. The species-specific photosynthesis sensitivity to UVB can partly explain the different tolerance of the algae to UVB and the change of competition outcome under elevated UVB. The present study elucidated the potential role of increased UVB radiation in determining the competitions between phytoplankton species, contributing to the understanding of phytoplankton community shifts under enhanced UVB stress.