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The physiological response of an Antarctic key phytoplankton species to low iron and manganese concentrations
Abstract Iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) availability and the divergent requirements of phytoplankton species were recently shown to be potential important drivers of Southern Ocean community composition. Knowledge about Antarctic phytoplankton species requirements for Fe and Mn remains, however, scarc...
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Published in: | Limnology and oceanography 2023-09, Vol.68 (9), p.2153-2166 |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Abstract
Iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) availability and the divergent requirements of phytoplankton species were recently shown to be potential important drivers of Southern Ocean community composition. Knowledge about Antarctic phytoplankton species requirements for Fe and Mn remains, however, scarce. By performing laboratory experiments and additional calculations of the photosynthetic electron transport, we investigated the response of the ecologically important species
Phaeocystis antarctica
under a combination of different Fe and Mn concentrations. Fe deprivation alone provoked typical physiological characteristics of Fe limitation in
P. antarctica
(e.g., lowered growth and photosynthetic efficiency). In comparison, under Mn deprivation alone, the growth and carbon production of
P. antarctica
were not impacted. Its tolerance to cope with low Mn concentrations resulted from an efficient photoacclimation strategy, including a higher number of active photosystems II through which fewer electrons were transported. This strategy allowed us to maintain similar high growth and carbon production rates as FeMn‐enriched cells. Due to its low Mn requirement,
P. antarctica
performed physiologically as Fe‐deprived cells under the combined depletion of Fe and Mn. Hence, our study reveals that different from other Southern Ocean phytoplankton species,
P. antarctica
possesses a high capacity to cope with natural low Mn concentrations, which can facilitate its dominance over others, potentially explaining its ecological success across the Southern Ocean. |
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ISSN: | 0024-3590 1939-5590 |
DOI: | 10.1002/lno.12412 |