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Growth limitation of three Arctic sea ice algal species: effects of salinity, pH, and inorganic carbon availability

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Abstract

The effect of salinity, pH, and dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2) on growth and survival of three Arctic sea ice algal species, two diatoms (Fragilariopsis nana and Fragilariopsis sp.), and one species of chlorophyte (Chlamydomonas sp.) was assessed in controlled laboratory experiments. Our results suggest that the chlorophyte and the two diatoms have different tolerance to fluctuations in salinity and pH. The two species of diatoms exhibited maximum growth rates at a salinity of 33, and growth rates at a salinity of 100 were reduced by 50% compared to at a salinity of 33. Growth ceased at a salinity of 150. The chlorophyte species was more sensitive to high salinities than the two diatom species. Growth rate of the chlorophyte was greatly reduced already at a salinity of 50 and it could not grow at salinities above 100. At salinity 33 and constant TCO2 concentration, all species exhibited maximal growth rate at pH 8.0 and/or 8.5. The two diatom species stopped growing at pH > 9.5, while the chlorophyte species still was able to grow at a rate which was 1/3 of its maximum growth rate at pH 10. Thus, Chlamydomonas sp. was able to grow at high pH levels in the succession experiment and therefore outcompeted the two diatom species. Complementary experiments indicated that growth was mainly limited by pH, while inorganic carbon limitation only played an important role at very high pH levels and low TCO2 concentrations.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Anna Haxen and Michael R. Schrøder for assistance in field and laboratory and Thomas Juul-Pedersen, Kristine Arendt and Paul Batty for valuable comments. Furthermore, we want to thank Nina Lundholm from the Scandinavian Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa, Department of phycology, University of Copenhagen for providing the diatom Fragilariopsis nana. The study received financial support from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, KVUK Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland and is a part of the Greenland Climate Research Centre (GCRC 6507) and a contribution to the Nuuk Basic and Zackenberg Basic programmes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Greenland Climate Research Centre (C/O Greenland Institute of Natural Resources), Kivioq 2, Box 570, 3900, Nuuk, Greenland

    Dorte Haubjerg Søgaard, Søren Rysgaard & Ronnie Nøhr Glud

  2. Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Strandpromenaden 5, 3000, Helsingør, Denmark

    Per Juel Hansen

  3. University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark

    Dorte Haubjerg Søgaard & Ronnie Nøhr Glud

  4. Dumstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Scottish Association for Marine Science, PA37 1QA, Dunbeg, Scotland, UK

    Ronnie Nøhr Glud

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  1. Dorte Haubjerg Søgaard
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  2. Per Juel Hansen
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  3. Søren Rysgaard
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  4. Ronnie Nøhr Glud
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Correspondence to Dorte Haubjerg Søgaard.

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Søgaard, D.H., Hansen, P.J., Rysgaard, S. et al. Growth limitation of three Arctic sea ice algal species: effects of salinity, pH, and inorganic carbon availability. Polar Biol 34, 1157–1165 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-0976-3

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