Experimental warming promotes phytoplankton species sorting towards cyanobacterial blooms and leads to potential changes in ecosystem functioning

Geovani Arnhold Moresco; Juliana Déo Dias; Lucía Cabrera-Lamanna; Claudia Baladán; Mina Bizic; Luzia Cleide Rodrigues; Mariana Meerhoff

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171621

Experimental warming promotes phytoplankton species sorting towards cyanobacterial blooms and leads to potential changes in ecosystem functioning

Geovani Arnhold Moresco, Juliana Déo Dias, Lucía Cabrera-Lamanna, Claudia Baladán, Mina Bizic, Luzia Cleide Rodrigues, Mariana Meerhoff^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Ecoscience - Freshwater Ecology

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

A positive feedback loop where climate warming enhances eutrophication and its manifestations (e.g., cyanobacterial blooms) has been recently highlighted, but its consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are not fully understood. We conducted a highly replicated indoor experiment with a species-rich subtropical freshwater phytoplankton community. The experiment tested the effects of three constant temperature scenarios (17, 20, and 23 °C) under high-nutrient supply conditions on community composition and proxies of ecosystem functioning, namely resource use efficiency (RUE) and CO₂ fluxes. After 32 days, warming reduced species richness and promoted different community trajectories leading to a dominance by green algae in the intermediate temperature and by cyanobacteria in the highest temperature treatments. Warming promoted primary production, with a 10-fold increase in the mean biomass of green algae and cyanobacteria. The maximum RUE occurred under the warmest treatment. All treatments showed net CO₂ influx, but the magnitude of influx decreased with warming. We experimentally demonstrated direct effects of warming on phytoplankton species sorting, with negative effects on diversity and direct positive effects on cyanobacteria, which could lead to potential changes in ecosystem functioning. Our results suggest potential positive feedback between the phytoplankton blooms and warming, via lower net CO₂ sequestration in cyanobacteria-dominated, warmer systems, and add empirical evidence to the need for decreasing the likelihood of cyanobacterial dominance.

Original language	English
Article number	171621
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	924
ISSN	0048-9697
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171621
Publication status	Published - May 2024

Keywords

CO flux
Cyanobacterial blooms
Eutrophication
Heating experiment
Resource use efficiency
Chlorophyta
Ecosystem
Cyanobacteria
Lakes
Phytoplankton
Biomass
Carbon Dioxide

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171621

Cite this

@article{b6d267e1ce3c4318b1524f3e0880cd8c,

title = "Experimental warming promotes phytoplankton species sorting towards cyanobacterial blooms and leads to potential changes in ecosystem functioning",

abstract = "A positive feedback loop where climate warming enhances eutrophication and its manifestations (e.g., cyanobacterial blooms) has been recently highlighted, but its consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are not fully understood. We conducted a highly replicated indoor experiment with a species-rich subtropical freshwater phytoplankton community. The experiment tested the effects of three constant temperature scenarios (17, 20, and 23 °C) under high-nutrient supply conditions on community composition and proxies of ecosystem functioning, namely resource use efficiency (RUE) and CO2 fluxes. After 32 days, warming reduced species richness and promoted different community trajectories leading to a dominance by green algae in the intermediate temperature and by cyanobacteria in the highest temperature treatments. Warming promoted primary production, with a 10-fold increase in the mean biomass of green algae and cyanobacteria. The maximum RUE occurred under the warmest treatment. All treatments showed net CO2 influx, but the magnitude of influx decreased with warming. We experimentally demonstrated direct effects of warming on phytoplankton species sorting, with negative effects on diversity and direct positive effects on cyanobacteria, which could lead to potential changes in ecosystem functioning. Our results suggest potential positive feedback between the phytoplankton blooms and warming, via lower net CO2 sequestration in cyanobacteria-dominated, warmer systems, and add empirical evidence to the need for decreasing the likelihood of cyanobacterial dominance.",

keywords = "CO flux, Cyanobacterial blooms, Eutrophication, Heating experiment, Resource use efficiency, Chlorophyta, Ecosystem, Cyanobacteria, Lakes, Phytoplankton, Biomass, Carbon Dioxide",

author = "Moresco, {Geovani Arnhold} and Dias, {Juliana D{\'e}o} and Luc{\'i}a Cabrera-Lamanna and Claudia Balad{\'a}n and Mina Bizic and Rodrigues, {Luzia Cleide} and Mariana Meerhoff",

year = "2024",

month = may,

doi = "10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171621",

language = "English",

volume = "924",

journal = "Science of the Total Environment",

issn = "0048-9697",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

Experimental warming promotes phytoplankton species sorting towards cyanobacterial blooms and leads to potential changes in ecosystem functioning. / Moresco, Geovani Arnhold; Dias, Juliana Déo; Cabrera-Lamanna, Lucía et al.
In: Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 924, 171621, 05.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Experimental warming promotes phytoplankton species sorting towards cyanobacterial blooms and leads to potential changes in ecosystem functioning

AU - Moresco, Geovani Arnhold

AU - Dias, Juliana Déo

AU - Cabrera-Lamanna, Lucía

AU - Baladán, Claudia

AU - Bizic, Mina

AU - Rodrigues, Luzia Cleide

AU - Meerhoff, Mariana

PY - 2024/5

Y1 - 2024/5

N2 - A positive feedback loop where climate warming enhances eutrophication and its manifestations (e.g., cyanobacterial blooms) has been recently highlighted, but its consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are not fully understood. We conducted a highly replicated indoor experiment with a species-rich subtropical freshwater phytoplankton community. The experiment tested the effects of three constant temperature scenarios (17, 20, and 23 °C) under high-nutrient supply conditions on community composition and proxies of ecosystem functioning, namely resource use efficiency (RUE) and CO2 fluxes. After 32 days, warming reduced species richness and promoted different community trajectories leading to a dominance by green algae in the intermediate temperature and by cyanobacteria in the highest temperature treatments. Warming promoted primary production, with a 10-fold increase in the mean biomass of green algae and cyanobacteria. The maximum RUE occurred under the warmest treatment. All treatments showed net CO2 influx, but the magnitude of influx decreased with warming. We experimentally demonstrated direct effects of warming on phytoplankton species sorting, with negative effects on diversity and direct positive effects on cyanobacteria, which could lead to potential changes in ecosystem functioning. Our results suggest potential positive feedback between the phytoplankton blooms and warming, via lower net CO2 sequestration in cyanobacteria-dominated, warmer systems, and add empirical evidence to the need for decreasing the likelihood of cyanobacterial dominance.

AB - A positive feedback loop where climate warming enhances eutrophication and its manifestations (e.g., cyanobacterial blooms) has been recently highlighted, but its consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are not fully understood. We conducted a highly replicated indoor experiment with a species-rich subtropical freshwater phytoplankton community. The experiment tested the effects of three constant temperature scenarios (17, 20, and 23 °C) under high-nutrient supply conditions on community composition and proxies of ecosystem functioning, namely resource use efficiency (RUE) and CO2 fluxes. After 32 days, warming reduced species richness and promoted different community trajectories leading to a dominance by green algae in the intermediate temperature and by cyanobacteria in the highest temperature treatments. Warming promoted primary production, with a 10-fold increase in the mean biomass of green algae and cyanobacteria. The maximum RUE occurred under the warmest treatment. All treatments showed net CO2 influx, but the magnitude of influx decreased with warming. We experimentally demonstrated direct effects of warming on phytoplankton species sorting, with negative effects on diversity and direct positive effects on cyanobacteria, which could lead to potential changes in ecosystem functioning. Our results suggest potential positive feedback between the phytoplankton blooms and warming, via lower net CO2 sequestration in cyanobacteria-dominated, warmer systems, and add empirical evidence to the need for decreasing the likelihood of cyanobacterial dominance.

KW - CO flux

KW - Cyanobacterial blooms

KW - Eutrophication

KW - Heating experiment

KW - Resource use efficiency

KW - Chlorophyta

KW - Ecosystem

KW - Cyanobacteria

KW - Lakes

KW - Phytoplankton

KW - Biomass

KW - Carbon Dioxide

U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171621

DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171621

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38467252

AN - SCOPUS:85187961860

SN - 0048-9697

VL - 924

JO - Science of the Total Environment

JF - Science of the Total Environment

M1 - 171621

ER -

Experimental warming promotes phytoplankton species sorting towards cyanobacterial blooms and leads to potential changes in ecosystem functioning

Abstract

Keywords

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