Physiological and behavioral responses of phytoplankton communities to nutrient availability in a disturbed Mediterranean coastal lagoon

A Leruste (1, 2) , V. Pasqualini (1) , M. Garrido (1) , N. Malet (3) , Rutger de Wit (2) , B. Bec (2)

1 SPE - Sciences pour l'environnement
2 UMR MARBEC - MARine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation
3 IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer

Short-term bioassays were conducted in Biguglia lagoon (Corsica) to study the physiological and behavioral responses of phytoplankton to N-and P-availability. Natural communities were collected in two stations representative of the two sub-basins, at three periods with contrasting environmental characteristics to address the impact of seasonal variability. These samples were separately enriched with a full N and P enrichment, and with enrichments minus N or minus P. Phytoplankton size structuration, diversity, and growth of the total phyto-plankton, the micro-, nano-and ultraphytoplankton were evaluated using spectrofluorimetry, and optical mi-croscopy. Results showed that the communities were fueled by NO 3 − in the wet periods (autumn and spring) and NH 4 + in summer. The phytoplankton communities displayed highest cell size in autumn, with high abundances of nanoflagellates, and smallest cell size in summer with a large dominance of phycocyanin-rich picocyano-bacteria. Blooms of dinoflagellates also occurred during the wet periods, coinciding with high N:P ratios. The full enrichment has not stimulated phytoplankton growth in autumn, suggesting the importance of other controlling factors such as light, a possible NH 4 + inhibition or the use of mixotrophic abilities. In spring, communities have displayed single P-limitation in the northern basin and different N and P co-limitations in the southern basin. In summer, the full enrichment consistently stimulated the growth of all cell sizes. The communities showed high N and P co-limitations, which is consistent with growing observations in aquatic ecosystems, and reflects the different functional responses of phytoplankton communities to the nutrient availability.

Mots clés: Functional traits; Growth rate; Dilution experiment; Eutrophication

Domaines: Ecosystèmes; Biodiversité et Ecologie

A Leruste, V. Pasqualini, M. Garrido, N. Malet, Rutger de Wit, et al.. Physiological and behavioral responses of phytoplankton communities to nutrient availability in a disturbed Mediterranean coastal lagoon. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2019, 219, pp.176-188. ⟨10.1016/j.ecss.2019.02.014⟩. ⟨hal-02390967⟩