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Effect of increasing temperature on periphyton accrual under controlled environmental conditions

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Abstract

Global warming can affect biomass accumulation and the dynamics of periphytic communities, potentially altering their role in aquatic ecosystem functioning. We conducted a 38-day mesocosm experiment to investigate the effects of an increase in winter temperature on periphyton biomass accumulation under eutrophic conditions. We evaluated the warming effect on colonization phases, identifying the most affected phase. The experiment had two treatments (control: current winter temperature of 23.5 ℃, warming: + 5.7 ℃ under IPCC scenario). It was carried out in growth chambers under controlled temperature, light, and humidity. Periphyton and water samplings were performed on days 3, 6, 9, 13, 17, 21, 27, and 38. The increase in temperature did not affect the organic matter accrual rate of the periphyton. However, it negatively affected the net and gross accrual rate of the algal biomass. Ash-free dry mass and chlorophyll-a ratio in the periphyton increased at higher temperatures, indicating a decrease in autotrophic components in the periphyton in the warming treatment. We detected losses in algal biomass during the intermediate and advanced colonization phases. Our results showed a decrease in periphytic algal biomass with an increase in average temperature in winter. In conclusion, a warming scenario can negatively influence periphyton biomass in eutrophic ecosystems, where algal growth in the community is generally unfavorable.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and analyzed during the present study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support of the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo for the development of the project (FAPESP 2017/50341-0). LDS is grateful for the scientific initiation scholarship granted by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP 2022/08479-2) and ROC is grateful for the master’s scholarship granted by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and FAPESP (2022/16879-0). All authors would like to thank the technicians and graduate students for their support in collections and laboratory analyses.

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The authors declare that there are no competing financial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Núcleo de Conservação E Biodiversidade, Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais, Av. Miguel Stéfano, 3687, Água Funda, São Paulo, SP, CEP 04301-902, Brazil

    L. D. Sapucaia, R. O. Carneiro & C. Ferragut

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biodiversidade Vegetal E Meio Ambiente, Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais, Av. Miguel Stéfano, 3687, Água Funda, São Paulo, SP, CEP 04301-902, Brazil

    R. O. Carneiro & C. Ferragut

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  1. L. D. Sapucaia
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  3. C. Ferragut
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L.D. Sapucaia, R.O. Carneiro, and C. Ferragut: conceptualized experimental sampling, wrote, and edited the original draft; L.D. Sapucaia generated the biotic data; all authors generated the abiotic results. All authors revised and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to C. Ferragut.

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Sapucaia, L.D., Carneiro, R.O. & Ferragut, C. Effect of increasing temperature on periphyton accrual under controlled environmental conditions. Limnology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-024-00749-6

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