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Phytoplankton blooms are an important, widespread phenomenon in open oceans, coastal waters and freshwaters, supporting food webs and essential ecosystem services. Blooms are even more important in exploited coastal waters for maintaining high resource production. However, the environmental factors driving blooms in shallow productive coastal waters are still unclear, making it difficult to assess how environmental fluctuations influence bloom phenology and productivity. To gain insights into bloom phenology, Chl a fluorescence and meteorological and hydrological parameters were monitored at high-frequency (15 min) and nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton abundance and diversity, were monitored weekly in a typical Mediterranean shallow coastal system (Thau Lagoon). This study was carried out from winter to late spring in two successive years with different climatic conditions: 2014/2015 was typical, but the winter of 2015/2016 was the warmest on record. Rising water temperature was the main driver of phytoplankton blooms. However, blooms were sometimes correlated with winds and sometimes correlated with salinity, suggesting nutrients were supplied by water transport via winds, saltier seawater intake, rain and water flow events. This finding indicates the joint role of these factors in determining the success of phytoplankton blooms. Furthermore, interannual variability showed that winter water temperature was higher in 2016 than in 2015, resulting in lower phytoplankton biomass accumulation in the following spring. Moreover, the phytoplankton abundances and diversity also changed: cyanobacteria (< 1 μm), picoeukaryotes (< 1 μm) and nanoeukaryotes (3-6 μm) increased to the detriment of larger phytoplankton such as diatoms. Water temperature is a key factor affecting phytoplankton bloom dynamics in shallow productive coastal waters and could become crucial with future global warming by modifying bloom phenology and changing phytoplankton community structure, in turn affecting the entire food web and ecosystem services., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Upon phosphorus (P) deficiency, marine phytoplankton reduce their requirements for P by replacing membrane phospholipids with alternative non-phosphorus lipids. It was very recently demonstrated that a SAR11 isolate also shares this capability when phosphate starved in culture. Yet, the extent to which this process occurs in other marine heterotrophic bacteria and in the natural environment is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the substitution of membrane phospholipids for a variety of non-phosphorus lipids is a conserved response to P deficiency among phylogenetically diverse marine heterotrophic bacteria, including members of the Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria. By deletion mutagenesis and complementation in the model marine bacterium Phaeobacter sp. MED193 and heterologous expression in recombinant Escherichia coli, we confirm the roles of a phospholipase C (PlcP) and a glycosyltransferase in lipid remodelling. Analyses of the Global Ocean Sampling and Tara Oceans metagenome data sets demonstrate that PlcP is particularly abundant in areas characterized by low phosphate concentrations. Furthermore, we show that lipid remodelling occurs seasonally and responds to changing nutrient conditions in natural microbial communities from the Mediterranean Sea. Together, our results point to the key role of lipid substitution as an adaptive strategy enabling heterotrophic bacteria to thrive in the vast P-depleted areas of the ocean.

Intense regional warming was observed in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) over the last 50 years. Here, we investigate the impact of climate change on primary production (PP) in this highly productive region. This study is based on temporal data series of ozone thickness (1972-2010), sea ice concentration (1978-2010), sea-surface temperature (1990-2010), incident irradiance (1988-2010) and satellite-derived chlorophyll a concentration (Chl-a, 1997-2010) for the coastal WAP. In addition, we apply a photosynthesis/photoinhibition spectral model to satellite-derived data (1997-2010) to compute PP and examine the separate impacts of environmental forcings. Since 1978, sea ice retreat has been occurring earlier in the season (in March in 1978 and in late October during the 2000s) while the ozone hole is present in early spring (i.e. August to November) since the early 1990s, increasing the intensity of ultraviolet-B radiation (UVBR, 280-320 nm). The WAP waters have also warmed over 1990-2010. The modelled PP rates are in the lower range of previously reported PP rates in the WAP. The annual open water PP in the study area increased from 1997 to 2010 (from 0.73 to 1.03 Tg C yr(-1) ) concomitantly with the increase in the production season length. The coincidence between the earlier sea ice retreat and the presence of the ozone hole increased the exposure to incoming radiation (UVBR, UVAR and PAR) and, thus, increased photoinhibition during austral spring (September to November) in the study area (from 0.014 to 0.025 Tg C yr(-1) ). This increase in photoinhibition was minor compared to the overall increase in PP, however. Climate change hence had an overall positive impact on PP in the WAP waters., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The effects of grazing pressure and inorganic nutrient availability on the direct carbon transfer from freshly produced phytoplankton exudates to heterotrophic bacteria biomass production were studied in Mediterranean coastal waters. The short-term incorporation of ¹³C (H¹³CO₃) in phytoplankton and bacterial lipid biomarkers was measured as well as the total bacterial carbon production (BP), viral lysis and the microbial community structure under three experimental conditions: (1) High inorganic Nutrient and High Grazing (HN + HG), (2) High inorganic Nutrient and Low Grazing (HN + LG) and (3) under natural in situ conditions with Low inorganic Nutrient and High Grazing (LN + HG) during spring. Under phytoplankton bloom conditions (HN + LG), the bacterial use of freshly produced phytoplankton exudates as a source of carbon, estimated from ¹³C enrichment of bacterial lipids, contributed more than half of the total bacterial production. However, under conditions of high grazing pressure on phytoplankton with or without the addition of inorganic nutrients (HN + HG and LN + HG), the ¹³C enrichment of bacterial lipids was low compared with the high total bacterial production. BP therefore seems to depend mainly on freshly produced phytoplankton exudates during the early phase of phytoplankton bloom period. However, BP seems mainly relying on recycled carbon from viral lysis and predators under high grazing pressure.

Positive relationships between heterotrophic bacteria and particulate phytoplankton production (respectively, BP and PPP) have been reported for several areas, suggesting that material produced by phytoplankton was a major substrate for bacterial growth. Since then, thousands of simultaneous measurements of both PPP and BP have been performed. A review of these data showed that BP may exceed PPP considerably (median ranged between 132% and 484%) in all aquatic systems with the lowest PPP. In oceanic waters, BP did not seem to be temporally synchronized with PPP and the median BP : PPP ratio is 15% with moderate PPP, but the immediate bacterial carbon (C) demand (including bacterial respiration) was greater than the corresponding total primary production (i.e. dissolved and particulate primary production) for >80% of both volumetric and areal datasets. In freshwaters, the strong covariation observed between BP and PPP seemed mainly due to a common response to sudden nutrient inputs into enclosed systems, leading to a similar range of production rates and temporal synchronicities. Indeed, phytoplankton exudates contributed directly to only 32% (median) of BP when C-tracking experiments were performed in freshwaters. Therefore, because direct C dependency of bacteria on phytoplankton is questionable, other C sources might be more significant for bacterial growth.

A microcosm approach was designed to study the combined effects of tributyltin (TBT) from antifouling paints and ultraviolet-B radiation (UVBR: 280-320 nm), on a natural planktonic assemblage (<150 microm) isolated from the St. Lawrence Estuary at the end of the springtime. Microcosms (9l, cylindrical Teflon bags, 75 cm heightx25 cm width) were immersed in the water column of mesocosms (1800 l, polyethylene bags, 2.3 m depth) and exposed to two different UVBR regimes: natural ambient UVBR (NUVBR), and enhanced level of UVBR (HUVBR). During consecutive 5 days, effects of TBT (120 ng l -1) and enhanced UVBR (giving a biologically weighted UVBR 2.15-fold higher than natural light condition) were monitored in the samples coming from following treatments: (i) NUVBR light condition without TBT (NUVBR), (ii) NUVBR light condition with TBT-added (NUVBR+TBT), (iii) HUVBR light condition without TBT (HUVBR) and (iv) HUVBR light condition with TBT-added (HUVBR+TBT). Each treatment was conducted in triplicate microcosms. Different parameters were then measured during 5 days, including TBT analysis, bacterial abundance and productivity, phytoplankton abundance, cellular characteristics and growth rates, as well as in vivo chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence. Following TBT addition (NUVBR+TBT treatment), Chl a concentrations never exceeded 1 microg l-1 whereas final values as high as 54 microg l-1 were observed in TBT-free treatments (NUVBR and HUVBR). TBT addition resulted also in the lost of fluorescence signal of the maximum efficiency of the photosystem II in phytoplankton assemblage. TBT toxicity caused on phytoplankton <20 microm an increase of mean cell size and changes in shape reflected a drastic disturbance of the cell cycle leading to an inhibition of the apparent growth rate. These negative effects of TBT resulted in a final abundance of phytoplankton <20 microm of 591+/-35 cells ml-1 in NUVBR+TBT relative to NUVBR treatment (i.e., 31,846+/-312 cells ml-1). Moreover, when cells were submitted to TBT under enhanced UVBR (HUVBR+TBT treatment), final abundance of phytoplankton <20 microm was only 182+/-90 cells ml-1, with a significant interaction between TBT and UVBR during the last 2 days of the experiment. The same type of interaction was also observed for bacterial abundance in NUVBR+TBT and HUVBR+TBT with stimulation of 226 and of 403%, respectively due to TBT addition relative to NUVBR treatment. When considering bacterial productivity, TBT addition resulted in an inhibition of 32%, and this inhibition was significantly more pronounced under dual stresses (i.e., 77% in HUVBR+TBT). These results clearly demonstrate that the combination of TBT and UVBR stresses have synergistic effects affecting the first trophic levels of the marine food web.

The abundances of 17 cytometric groups encompassing four groups of bacteria, three groups of cyanobacteria, six groups of eukaryotic picophytoplankton (<2–3 µm), and four groups of small eukaryotic nanophytoplankton (between 3 and 6 µm) were studied in the Thau Lagoon across different seasonal conditions. Among them, the growth (µ) and mortality rates due to grazing (g) of 12 groups of bacteria, cyanobacteria, and eukaryotic pico- and nanophytoplankton were simultaneously studied in the Thau Lagoon via four dilution experiments across different seasonal conditions. The abundances of heterotrophic flagellates and ciliates and their potential predators were studied and linked to prey mortality. Bacteria were more active than phytoplankton and displayed the highest growth and grazing mortality rates. Most studied groups had g:µ ratios > 1, suggesting that predators efficiently grazed and transferred these preys. Surprisingly, the observed variations in predator abundance across seasons did not necessarily correspond with changes in grazing pressure. The significant positive relationship found between water temperature and bacterial grazing mortality rates and the reverse trend observed for larger eukaryotic prey suggested that warmer water increases small prokaryote transfer to higher trophic levels but disadvantages larger eukaryotic prey transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different calculations of bacterial carbon demand (BCD) were applied to bacterioplanktonic production datasets from oceanic euphotic waters and compared with estimates of dissolved and total phytoplanktonic production estimates. All calculations showed that the BCD in low productive waters was not supported by contemporary dissolved phytoplanktonic production or by the whole phytoplanktonic production when empirically modeled bacterial respiration and growth efficiency rates were used. This supports the new ecological concept of bacterial independence on phytoplankton production at the time scales (days, weeks) relevant to the microbial generation times observed in the oceans and used in biological and ecological models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

lthough winter conditions play a major role in determining the productivity of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) waters for the following spring and summer, a few studies have dealt with the seasonal variability of microorganisms in the WAP in winter. Moreover, because of regional warming, sea-ice retreat is happening earlier in spring, at the onset of the production season. In this context, this study describes the dynamics of the marine microbial community in the Melchior Archipelago (WAP) from fall to spring 2006. Samples were collected monthly to biweekly at four depths from the surface to the aphotic layer. The abundance and carbon content of bacteria, phytoplankton and microzooplankton were analyzed using flow cytometry and inverted microscopy, and bacterial richness was examined by PCR-DGGE. As expected, due to the extreme environmental conditions, the microbial community abundance and biomass were low in fall and winter. Bacterial abundance ranged from 1.2 to 2.8 × 10 cells ml showing a slight increase in spring. Phytoplankton biomass was low and dominated by small cells (<2 μm) in fall and winter (average chlorophyll a concentration, Chl- a, of, respectively, 0.3 and 0.13 μg l). Phytoplankton biomass increased in spring (Chl- a up to 1.13 μg l), and, despite potentially adequate growth conditions, this rise was small and phytoplankton was still dominated by small cells (2-20 μm). In addition, the early disappearing of sea-ice in spring 2006 let the surface water exposed to ultraviolet B radiations (UVBR, 280-320 nm), which seemed to have a negative impact on the microbial community in surface waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diel variations of cellular optical properties were examined for cultures of the haptophyte Imantonia rotunda N. Reynolds and the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana (Hust.) Hasle et Heimdal grown under a 14:10 light:dark (L:D) cycle and transferred from 100 μmol photons · m−2 · s−1 to higher irradiances of 250 and 500 μmol photons · m−2 · s−1. Cell volume and abundance, phytoplankton absorption coefficients, flow-cytometric light scattering and chl fluorescence, and pigment composition were measured every 2 h over a 24 h period. Results showed that cell division was more synchronous for I. rotunda than for T. pseudonana. Several variables exhibited diel variability with an amplitude >100%, notably mean cell volume for the haptophyte and photoprotective carotenoids for both species, while optical properties such as flow-cytometric scattering and chl a–specific phytoplankton absorption generally showed <50% diel variability. Increased irradiance induced changes in pigments (both species) and mean cell volume (for the diatom) and amplified diel variability for most variables. This increase in amplitude is larger for pigments (factor of 2 or more, notably for cellular photoprotective carotenoid content in I. rotunda and for photosynthetic pigments in T. pseudonana) than for optical properties (a factor of 1.5 for chl a–specific absorption, at 440 nm, in I. rotunda and a factor of 2 for the absorption cross-section and the chl a–specific scattering in T. pseudonana). Consequently, diel changes in optical properties and pigmentation associated with the L:D cycle and amplified by concurrent changes in irradiance likely contribute significantly to the variability in optical properties observed in biooptical field studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A 7-day mesocosm experiment was conducted in July 1996 to investigate the effects of ambient UV-B radiation (UVBR) exclusion and two UVBR enhancements above ambient levels on NO3-, NH4+ and urea utilization in a natural plankton community (<240 μm) from the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. The phytoplankton community was dominated by diatoms during the first 3 days and, afterward, by flagellates and dinoflagellates. The results of 4-h incubations just below the water surface show that, compared with ambient UVBR conditions, UVBR exclusion generally increased NO3-, NH4+, and urea uptakes. During the last 4 days of the experiment, the percent increase in the specific uptake rate of urea under excluded UVBR conditions varied between 17% and 130% and was a linear function of the ambient UVBR dose removed. During the first 3 days, the phytoplankton community dominated by diatoms was able to withstand UVBR enhancements without any perceptible effect on nitrogen uptake. However, during the post-diatom bloom period, UVBR enhancements resulted in decreases in NO3-, NH4+, and urea uptake compared with ambient UVBR conditions. The reduction of urea uptake under UVBR enhancements during the last 3 days varied between 23% and 64% and was linearly related to the enhanced UVBR dose. However, the different UVBR treatments did not affect the internal organic nitrogen composition (internal urea, free amino acids, and proteins) of the phytoplankton community experiencing vertical mixing in the mesocosms. The discrepancy between short-term uptake measurements at the surface and long-term effects in the mesocosms emphasizes the importance of vertical mixing on UVBR effects in natural ecosystems. This suggests that an increase in ambient UVBR would have a minimal effect on nitrogen utilization by natural phytoplankton assemblages if these are vertically... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thau lagoon is a Mediterranean coastal lagoon used for shellfish farming. It is periodically affected by anoxia events that trigger oyster mortality. To investigate the effects of an anoxia event focussed on nutrient dynamics and the responses of the microbial planktonic communities a 13-day in situ experiment was performed in September 2020. Transparent mesocosms (270 L) were placed at a depth of 4 m, inserted in the sediment, and kept closed throughout the experiment. The experiment comprised three treatments: i) Natural environment (N), i.e. in the natural water outside the mesocosms containing a rope of 30 oysters (Crassostrea gigas), ii) Control mesocosm (C) filled with natural water with no oysters, and iii) Oyster mesocosm (O) filled with natural water containing a rope of 30 oysters. Oyster respiration in the oyster mesocosm depleted oxygen after 54 h. All the oysters from O mesocosm were dead after nine days and decomposition of their flesh combined with releases from the water-sediment interface increased dissolved inorganic nitrogen (dominated by ammonium), phosphates, and ∑H 2 S up to 390, 17 and 295 μmol·L−1, respectively. Phytoplankton biomass consequently increased by 20 (11.8 μg chl al −1) and abundance by 4.5 (186 × 106 cells·L1) dominated largely by green algae <5 μm. During the oyster mortality period (day 6 to day 9) high abundances of heterotrophic flagellates and large ciliate specimens were observed. This shift in the community towards small phytoplankton favours the microbial loop and is detrimental to shellfish farming. In a context of global warming in which the risk of anoxia is higher, the results of the present investigation demonstrate that anoxia triggers shellfish mortality and that the change in the plankton community disrupts the normal functioning of the ecosystem, causing serious financial losses. In this context, it is crucial to predict possible hypoxia and anoxia events using high frequency measurements of dissolved oxygen, by avoiding using shallow zones for oyster production and by reducing shellfish stocks, or by mechanically lifting the oysters out of the water during the night to reduce oxygen respiration in the ecosystem. • In presence of oysters, anoxia was reached after 54 h in the mesocosm. • A picophytoplankton bloom was observed during anoxia and oyster decomposition. • Anoxia and oyster mortalities induced a community shift towards small plankton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]