Abrupt declines in marine phytoplankton production driven by warming and biodiversity loss in a microcosm experiment

TitleAbrupt declines in marine phytoplankton production driven by warming and biodiversity loss in a microcosm experiment
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsBestion E, Barton S, García FC, Warfield R, Yvon-Durocher G
Secondary AuthorsHillebrand H
JournalEcology Letters
Volume23
Pagination457–466
Date Publishedmar
ISSN1461-023X
Keywordsbiodiversity, biodiversity loss, climate change, ecosystem functioning, phytoplankton, RCC1303, rcc1512, RCC4221, RCC623, RCC626, RCC652, RCC80, RCC834, thermal per-
Abstract

Rising sea surface temperatures are expected to lead to the loss of phytoplankton biodiversity. However, we currently understand very little about the interactions between warming, loss of phytoplankton diversity and its impact on the oceans' primary production. We experimentally manipulated the species richness of marine phytoplankton communities under a range of warming scenarios, and found that ecosystem production declined more abruptly with species loss in communities exposed to higher temperatures. Species contributing positively to ecosystem production in the warmed treatments were those that had the highest optimal temperatures for photosynthesis, implying that the synergistic impacts of warming and biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning were mediated by thermal trait variability. As species were lost from the communities, the probability of taxa remaining that could tolerate warming diminished, resulting in abrupt declines in ecosystem production. Our results highlight the potential for synergistic effects of warming and biodiversity loss on marine primary production.

URLhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ele.13444
DOI10.1111/ele.13444