Why marine phytoplankton calcify.

Fanny M Monteiro, Lennart T Bach, Colin Brownlee, Paul Bown, Rosalind E M Rickaby, Alex J Poulton, Toby Tyrrell, Luc Beaufort, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Samantha Gibbs, Magdalena A Gutowska, Renee Lee, Ulf Riebesell, Jeremy Young, Andy Ridgwell

Journal: Science advances 2017;2(7):e1501822

PMID: 27453937

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Abstract

Calcifying marine phytoplankton-coccolithophores- are some of the most successful yet enigmatic organisms in the ocean and are at risk from global change. To better understand how they will be affected, we need to know "why" coccolithophores calcify. We review coccolithophorid evolutionary history and cell biology as well as insights from recent experiments to provide a critical assessment of the costs and benefits of calcification. We conclude that calcification has high energy demands and that coccolithophores might have calcified initially to reduce grazing pressure but that additional benefits such as protection from photodamage and viral/bacterial attack further explain their high diversity and broad spectrum ecology. The cost-benefit aspect of these traits is illustrated by novel ecosystem modeling, although conclusive observations remain limited. In the future ocean, the trade-off between changing ecological and physiological costs of calcification and their benefits will ultimately decide how this important group is affected by ocean acidification and global warming.

Address: School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK.; GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany.; Marine Biological Association, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.; Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK.; Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK.; Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.; Aix-Marseille University/CNRS, Centre Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement (CEREGE), 13545 Aix-en-Provence, France.; Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA.; Museum of Natural History, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.; School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK.; Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501822

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MeSH Terms: Calcification, Physiologic, Calcium Carbonate, Ecosystem, Global Warming, Haptophyta, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Oceans and Seas, Photosynthesis, Seawater