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Evolutionary temperature compensation of carbon fixation in marine phytoplankton
Author(s) -
Barton Samuel,
Jenkins James,
Buckling Angus,
Schaum C.-Elisa,
Smirnoff Nicholas,
Raven John A.,
YvonDurocher Gabriel
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13469
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , carbon fixation , respiration , photosynthesis , effects of global warming on oceans , ecology , climate change , biology , environmental science , global warming , carbon cycle , carbon dioxide , ecosystem , botany , nutrient
The efficiency of carbon sequestration by the biological pump could decline in the coming decades because respiration tends to increase more with temperature than photosynthesis. Despite these differences in the short‐term temperature sensitivities of photosynthesis and respiration, it remains unknown whether the long‐term impacts of global warming on metabolic rates of phytoplankton can be modulated by evolutionary adaptation. We found that respiration was consistently more temperature dependent than photosynthesis across 18 diverse marine phytoplankton, resulting in universal declines in the rate of carbon fixation with short‐term increases in temperature. Long‐term experimental evolution under high temperature reversed the short‐term stimulation of metabolic rates, resulting in increased rates of carbon fixation. Our findings suggest that thermal adaptation may therefore have an ameliorating impact on the efficiency of phytoplankton as primary mediators of the biological carbon pump.