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Negative effects of ocean acidification on calcification vary within the coccolithophore genus Calcidiscus

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Abstract

A large percentage of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans, causing chemical changes in surface waters known as ocean acidification (OA). Despite the high interest and increased pace of OA research to understand the effects of OA on marine organisms, many ecologically important organisms remain unstudied. Calcidiscus is a heavily calcified coccolithophore genus that is widespread and genetically and morphologically diverse. It contributes substantially to global calcium carbonate production, organic carbon production, oceanic carbon burial, and ocean–atmosphere CO2 exchange. Despite the importance of this genus, relatively little work has examined its responses to OA. We examined changes in growth, morphology, and carbon allocation in multiple strains of Calcidiscus leptoporus in response to ocean acidification. We also, for the first time, examined the OA response of Calcidiscus quadriperforatus, a larger and more heavily calcified Calcidiscus congener. All Calcidiscus coccolithophores responded negatively to OA with impaired coccolith morphology and a decreased ratio of particulate inorganic to organic carbon (PIC:POC). However, strains responded variably; C. quadriperforatus showed the most sensitivity, while the most lightly calcified strain of C. leptoporus showed little response to OA. Our findings suggest that calcium carbonate production relative to organic carbon production by Calcidiscus coccolithophores may decrease in future oceans and that Calcidiscus distributions may shift if more resilient strains and species become dominant in assemblages. This study demonstrates that variable responses to OA may be strain or species specific in a way that is closely linked to physiological traits, such as cellular calcite quota.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Richard Dugdale and Gerald Langer for suggestions and feedback, and Andrew Kalmbach and Roy Bartal for assistance with culturing and sampling. We thank Alex Parker, Frances Wilkerson, and Allison Johnson for assistance in measuring dissolved inorganic carbon and Julia Sweet for measurements of PABM. We gratefully acknowledge use of the Carl Zeiss Ultra 55 FE-SEM and supporting equipment at San Francisco State University, and the assistance of Clive Hayzeldon in acquiring SEM images. The FE-SEM and supporting facilities were obtained under National Science Foundation-MRI grant 0821619 and National Science Foundation -EAR grant 0949176, respectively. This work was funded by National Science Foundation grant BIO-OCE 0723908 to E.J.C., J.H.S. and T.K and Chem- OCE-1041038 to U.P. Funding to R.E.D. was provided by Sigma Xi, the California State University Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology (COAST), the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation (ARCS), and San Francisco State University.

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  1. Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University, 3150 Paradise Drive, Tiburon, CA, 94920, USA

    Rachel E. Diner, Ina Benner, Tomoko Komada, Edward J. Carpenter & Jonathon H. Stillman

  2. Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Uta Passow

  3. Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA

    Jonathon H. Stillman

  4. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 1005 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3140, USA

    Jonathon H. Stillman

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  1. Rachel E. Diner
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Correspondence to Jonathon H. Stillman.

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Diner, R.E., Benner, I., Passow, U. et al. Negative effects of ocean acidification on calcification vary within the coccolithophore genus Calcidiscus . Mar Biol 162, 1287–1305 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2669-x

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