Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

Related Reference: 

Kendall, K., Marine Microzooplankton are Indirectly Affected by Ocean Acidification Through Direct Effects on Their Phytoplankton Prey. (Masters Thesis) Western Washington University. ​http://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/448/

The phytoplankton Rhodomonas sp. CCMP 755 was grown semi-continuously in atmosphere controlled chambers at three different CO2 treatment concentrations; Ambient (400ppmv), Moderate (750ppmv), and High (1000ppmv). Cultures were diluted daily starting day 4 with pre-equilibrated media containing f/50 nutrients. Some of the culture removed was used to evaluate chemical parameters. Samples for pH were filtered through a GFF to remove cells and loose coccoliths both of which increase optical scatter.  Samples were warmed to 25°C in a water bath and run within three hours of sampling.  pH was analyzed spectrophotometrically with m-cresol dye on an Agilent 8453A UV-VIS Diode Array Spectrophotometer.  Samples for total alkalinity were taken on growth days 5, 7 and 10.  Alkalinity was measured by gran titration using a Titrando 888, and 0.1 N HCl titrant, in a temperature controlled titration vessel (+/1 5 ueq/kg).  Other parameters were calculated with CO2sys.

BCO-DMO Processing Notes:
- added conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
- modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
- nd (no data) was entered into all blank cells

Description from NSF award abstract:
The calcifying Haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi appears to be acutely sensitive to the rising concentration of ocean pCO2. Documented responses by E. huxleyi to elevated pCO2 include modifications to their calcification rate and cell size, malformation of coccoliths, elevated growth rates, increased organic carbon production, lowering of PIC:POC ratios, and elevated production of the active climate gas DMS. Changes in these parameters are mechanisms known to elicit alterations in grazing behavior by microzooplankton, the oceans dominant grazer functional group. The investigators hypothesize that modifications to the physiology and biochemistry of calcifying and non-calcifying Haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi in response to elevated pCO2 will precipitate alterations in microzooplankton grazing dynamics. To test this hypothesis, they will conduct controlled laboratory experiments where several strains of E. huxleyi are grown at several CO2 concentrations. After careful characterization of the biochemical and physiological responses of the E. huxleyi strains to elevated pCO2, they will provide these strains as food to several ecologically-important microzooplankton and document grazing dynamics. E. huxleyi is an ideal organism for the study of phytoplankton and microzooplankton responses to rising anthropogenic CO2, the effects of which in the marine environment are called ocean acidification; E. huxleyi is biogeochemically important, is well studied, numerous strains are in culture that exhibit variation in the parameters described above, and they are readily fed upon by ecologically important microzooplankton.

The implications of changes in microzooplankton grazing for carbon cycling, specifically CaCO3 export, DMS production, nutrient regeneration in surface waters, and carbon transfer between trophic levels are profound, as this grazing, to a large degree, regulates all these processes. E. huxleyi is a model prey organism because it is one of the most biogeochemically influential global phytoplankton. It forms massive seasonal blooms, contributes significantly to marine inorganic and organic carbon cycles, is a large producer of the climatically active gas DMS, and is a source of organic matter for trophic levels both above and below itself. The planned controlled study will increase our knowledge of the mechanisms that drive patterns of change between trophic levels, thus providing a wider array of tools necessary to understand the complex nature of ocean acidification field studies, where competing variables can confound precise interpretation.