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Helbling EW, Villafañe VE, Narvarte MA, Burgueño GM, Saad JF, González RA, Cabrerizo MJ. The impact of extreme weather events exceeds those due to global-change drivers on coastal phytoplankton assemblages. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 918:170644. [PMID: 38320708 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
Extreme wind and rainfall events have become more frequent phenomena, impacting coastal ecosystems by inducing increased mixing regimes in the upper mixed layers (UML) and reduced transparency (i.e. browning), hence affecting phytoplankton photosynthesis. In this study, five plankton assemblages from the South Atlantic Ocean, from a gradient of environmental variability and anthropogenic exposure, were subjected to simulated extreme weather events under a global change scenario (GCS) of increased temperature and nutrients and decreased pH, and compared to ambient conditions (Control). Using multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis we determined that evenness and the ratio of diatoms/ (flagellates + dinoflagellates) significantly explained the variations (81-91 %) of the photosynthesis efficiency (i.e. Pchla/ETRchla ratio) for each site under static conditions. Mixing speed and the optical depth (i.e. attenuation coefficient * depth, kdz), as single drivers, explained 40-76 % of the variability in the Pchla/ETRchla ratio, while GCS drivers <9 %. Overall, assemblages with high diversity and evenness were less vulnerable to extreme weather events under a GCS. Extreme weather events should be considered in global change studies and conservation/management plans as even at local/regional scales, they can exceed the predicted impacts of mean global climate change on coastal primary productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Walter Helbling
- Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión, Casilla de Correos 15, 9103 Rawson, Chubut, Argentina.
| | - Virginia E Villafañe
- Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión, Casilla de Correos 15, 9103 Rawson, Chubut, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Maite A Narvarte
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina; Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos Almirante Storni & Escuela Superior de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, 8520 San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Giuliana M Burgueño
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina; Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos Almirante Storni & Escuela Superior de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, 8520 San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Juan F Saad
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina; Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos Almirante Storni & Escuela Superior de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, 8520 San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Raúl A González
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina; Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos Almirante Storni & Escuela Superior de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, 8520 San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Marco J Cabrerizo
- Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión, Casilla de Correos 15, 9103 Rawson, Chubut, Argentina; Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus de Fuentenueva s/n & Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
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