No detectable effect of CO_2 on elemental stoichiometry of Emiliania huxleyi in nutrient-limited, acclimated continuous cultures

摘要

Effects of CO_2 concentration on elemental composition of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi were studied in phosphorus-limited, continuous cultures that were acclimated to experimental conditions for 30 d prior to the first sampling. We determined phytoplankton and bacterial cell numbers, nutrients, particulate components like organic carbon (POC), inorganic carbon (PIC), nitrogen (PN), organic phosphorus (POP), transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), as well as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON), in addition to carbonate system parameters at CO_2 levels of 180, 380 and 750 μatm. No significant difference between treatments was observed for any of the measured variables during repeated sampling over a 14 d period. We considered several factors that might lead to these results, i.e. light, nutrients, carbon overcon-sumption and transient versus steady-state growth. We suggest that the absence of a clear CO_2 effect during this study does not necessarily imply the absence of an effect in nature. Instead, the sensitivity of the cell towards environmental stressors such as CO_2 may vary depending on whether growth conditions are transient or sufficiently stable to allow for optimal allocation of energy and resources. We tested this idea on previously published data sets where PIC and POC divided by the corresponding cell abundance of E. huxleyi at various pCO_2 levels and growth rates were available.