Although phenotypic plasticity is a widespread phenomenon, its implications for species responses to climate change are not well understood. For example, toxic cyanobacteria can form dense surface blooms threatening water quality in many eutrophic lakes, yet a theoretical framework to predict how phenotypic plasticity affects bloom development at elevated p CO 2 is still lacking. We measured phenotypic plasticity of the carbon fixation rates of the common bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis . Our results revealed a 1.8- to 5-fold increase in the maximum CO 2 uptake rate of Microcystis at elevated p CO 2 , which exceeds CO 2 responses reported for other phytoplankton species. The observed plasticity was incorporated into a mathematical model to predict dynamic changes in cyanobacterial abundance. The model was successfully validated by laboratory experiments and predicts that acclimation to high p CO 2 will intensify Microcystis blooms in eutrophic lakes. These results indicate that this harmful cyanobacterium is likely to benefit strongly from rising atmospheric p CO 2 .
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机译:虽然表型可塑性是一种广泛的现象,但它对物种对气候变化的影响并不充分了解。例如,有毒的蓝杆菌可以形成致密的表面绽放威胁水质在许多富营养的湖泊中,但预测表型塑性如何影响较高的P CO 2仍然缺乏的理论框架。我们测量了普通盛开的蓝藻微囊杆菌的碳固定率的表型可塑性。我们的结果表明,升高的P CO 2在升高的P CO 2下的Microcystis的最大CO 2摄取率增加1.8-至5倍,超过CO 2对其他浮游植物物种的反应。观察到的可塑性被掺入数学模型中以预测蓝细菌丰度的动态变化。该模型由实验室实验成功验证,并预测对高P CO 2的适应性将加剧富营养湖中的微囊囊盛开。这些结果表明,这种有害的蓝杆菌可能从升高的大气P CO 2中强烈受益。
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