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EVOLUTIONARY RESPONSES OF A COCCOLITHOPHORID GEPHYROCAPSA OCEANICA TO OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
Author(s) -
Jin Peng,
Gao Kunshan,
Beardall John
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/evo.12112
Subject(s) - ocean acidification , coccolithophore , emiliania huxleyi , biology , total inorganic carbon , plankton , phytoplankton , photosynthesis , coccolith , carbon fixation , oceanography , environmental chemistry , carbon dioxide , carbonate , ecology , botany , seawater , nutrient , chemistry , organic chemistry , geology
The ongoing ocean acidification associated with a changing carbonate system may impose profound effects on marine planktonic calcifiers. Here, we show that a coccolithophore, Gephyrocapsa oceanica , evolved in response to an elevated CO 2 concentration of 1000 μatm (pH reduced to 7.8) in a long‐term (∼670 generations) selection experiment. The high CO 2 ‐selected cells showed increases in photosynthetic carbon fixation, growth rate, cellular particulate organic carbon (POC) or nitrogen (PON) production, and a decrease in C:N elemental ratio, indicating a greater upregulation of PON than of POC production under the ocean acidification condition. Cells from the low CO 2 selection process shifted to high CO 2 exposure showed an enhanced cellular POC and PON production rates. Our data suggest that the coccolithophorid could adapt to ocean acidification with enhanced assimilations of carbon and nitrogen but decreased C:N ratios.