Submit to Microorganisms Review for Microorganisms Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2021) | Viewed by 13313

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Silvia Pulina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Aquatic Ecology Group, Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: phytoplankton; morpho-functional traits; environmental changes; phytoplankton-zooplankton interactions; intraspecific variability

Dr. Cecilia Teodora Satta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Aquatic Ecology Group, Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: phytoplankton; harmful algal blooms; intraspecific variability; environmental changes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Morpho-functional trait based-approach is a deeply recognized powerful tool for explaining the success of specific phytoplankton groups, including harmful species, at defined environmental conditions. It even represents a useful approach to predict phytoplankton susceptibility to grazing.

The amazing phytoplankton morpho-functional trait variability and the relative trade-offs represent the best adaptive strategy to cope with the strong variability of the pelagic environment. Although a great scientific effort is being made on this issue, to date there are still many open questions on which phytoplankton set of morpho-functional traits can be the best proxy of phytoplankton distribution along environmental gradients, as well as of community interactions. Furthermore, the extent and the role of phytoplankton intraspecific morpho-functional trait variability and trade-offs in community responses to environmental and biological changes remain almost unknown.

As Guest Editors, we warmly encourage authors to submit their manuscripts with new insights on phytoplankton morpho-functional trait variability along a changing environment, also including community interactions. Both experimental and field studies from any kind of aquatic ecosystems, as well as studies at both inter- and intraspecific level of variability are welcome. We retain that it will be pretty useful to understand and make predictions on phytoplankton responses to forecasted future environmental scenarios.

Dr. Silvia Pulina
Dr. Cecilia Teodora Satta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

phytoplankton
morpho-functional traits
intraspecific variability
environmental changes
phytoplankton-zooplankton interactions
harmful algal species
anthropic changes
climate changes

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers

Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 189 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits

by Silvia Pulina and Cecilia Teodora Satta

Microorganisms 2023, 11(6), 1545; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11061545 - 10 Jun 2023

Viewed by 827

Abstract

The pelagic environment is characterized by a great spatial and temporal heterogeneity [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

14 pages, 2005 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Morpho-Functional Traits Reveal Differences in Size Fractionated Phytoplankton Communities but Do Not Significantly Affect Zooplankton Grazing

by Jessica Titocci, Melanie Bon and Patrick Fink

Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 182; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10010182 - 14 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2144

Abstract

The recent emergence of approaches based on functional traits allows a more comprehensive evaluation of the role of functions and interactions within communities. As phytoplankton size and shape are the major determinants of its edibility to herbivores, alteration or loss of some morpho-functional phytoplankton traits should affect zooplankton grazing, fitness and population dynamics. Here, we investigated the response of altered phytoplankton morpho-functional trait distribution to grazing by zooplankton with contrasting food size preferences and feeding behaviors. To test this, we performed feeding trials in laboratory microcosms with size-fractionated freshwater phytoplankton (3 size classes, >30 µm; 5–30 µm and <5 µm) and two different consumer types: the cladoceran Daphnia longispina, (generalist unselective filter feeder) and the calanoid copepod Eudiaptomus sp. (selective feeder). We observed no significant changes in traits and composition between the controls and grazed phytoplankton communities. However, community composition and structure varied widely between the small and large size fractions, demonstrating the key role of size in structuring natural phytoplankton communities. Our findings also highlight the necessity to combine taxonomy and trait-based morpho-functional approaches when studying ecological dynamics in phytoplankton-zooplankton interactions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2330 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Maintenance of Intraspecific Diversity in Response to Species Competition and Nutrient Fluctuations

by Jorin Hamer, Birte Matthiessen, Silvia Pulina and Giannina S. I. Hattich

Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10010113 - 6 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1992

Abstract

Intraspecific diversity is a substantial part of biodiversity, yet little is known about its maintenance. Understanding mechanisms of intraspecific diversity shifts provides realistic detail about how phytoplankton communities evolve to new environmental conditions, a process especially important in times of climate change. Here, we aimed to identify factors that maintain genotype diversity and link the observed diversity change to measured phytoplankton morpho-functional traits V_max and cell size of the species and genotypes. In an experimental setup, the two phytoplankton species Emiliania huxleyi and Chaetoceros affinis, each consisting of nine genotypes, were cultivated separately and together under different fluctuation and nutrient regimes. Their genotype composition was assessed after 49 and 91 days, and Shannon’s diversity index was calculated on the genotype level. We found that a higher intraspecific diversity can be maintained in the presence of a competitor, provided it has a substantial proportion to total biovolume. Both fluctuation and nutrient regime showed species-specific effects and especially structured genotype sorting of C. affinis. While we could relate species sorting with the measured traits, genotype diversity shifts could only be partly explained. The observed context dependency of genotype maintenance suggests that the evolutionary potential could be better understood, if studied in more natural settings including fluctuations and competition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1461 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Trait Variability along Coastal Environmental Gradients

by Sirpa Lehtinen, Sanna Suikkanen, Heidi Hällfors, Jarno Tuimala and Harri Kuosa

Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2477; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122477 - 30 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1814

Abstract

We utilized the trait-based approach in a novel way to examine how specific phytoplankton traits are related to physical features connected to global change, water quality features connected to catchment change, and nutrient availability connected to nutrient loading. For the analyses, we used summertime monitoring data originating from the coastal northern Baltic Sea and generalized additive mixed modeling (GAMM). Of the physical features connected to global climate change, temperature was the most important affecting several studied traits. Nitrogen-fixing, buoyant, non-motile, and autotrophic phytoplankton, as well as harmful cyanobacteria, benefited from a higher temperature. Salinity and stratification did not have clear effects on the traits. Water transparency, which in the Baltic Sea is connected to catchment change, had a mostly negative relation to the studied traits. Harmfulness was negatively correlated with transparency, while the share of non-harmful and large-sized phytoplankton was positively related to it. We used nutrient loading source type and total phosphorus (TP) as proxies for nutrient availability connected to anthropogenic eutrophication. The nutrient loading source type did not relate to any of the traits. Our result showing that N-fixing was not related to TP is discussed. The regionality analysis demonstrated that traits should be calculated in both absolute terms (biomass) and proportions (share of total biomass) to get a better view of community changes and to potentially supplement the environmental status assessments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2546 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Vertical Spatial Overlap on Phytoplankton Diversity under Experimentally Altered Lake Stratification Regimes

by Philippe Le Noac’h, Vincent Ouellet Jobin and Beatrix E. Beisner

Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2447; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122447 - 27 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1458

Abstract

In phytoplankton communities, competitive exclusion might occur when functionally similar species are impeded from regulating their positions along light and nutrient gradients to reduce niche overlap. Greater spatial overlap (SO) between species due to water column mixing could thus promote competitive exclusion, reducing community taxonomic diversity. However, greater SO could also promote coexistence of functionally different taxa. Using data from a whole-lake experiment, we investigated the effects of SO and other relevant environmental factors on phytoplankton diversity across the water columns of lake basins with different thermocline manipulations. We estimated SO using an in situ fluorometer, and overall community diversity microscopically. Using structured equation models, we estimated directional relationships between phytoplankton diversity, SO, the lake physical structure and the zooplankton community. No significant effect of SO on phytoplankton taxonomic diversity was observed, but higher SO was associated with greater functional diversity. Change in lake physical structure and in the zooplankton community also affected diversity, with a negative response to increased top-down interactions. Overall, despite the fact that the alteration of water column stratification structure and top-down interactions were stronger drivers of phytoplankton diversity in our system, some effect of spatial overlap on the outcome of inferred competitive interactions were observable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1950 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Grazing Induced Shifts in Phytoplankton Cell Size Explain the Community Response to Nutrient Supply

by Evangelia Charalampous, Birte Matthiessen and Ulrich Sommer

Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2440; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122440 - 26 Nov 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1536

Abstract

Phytoplankton cell size is important for a multitude of functional traits such as growth rates, storage capabilities, and resistance to grazing. Because these response traits are correlated, selective effects on mean community cell size of one environmental factor should impact the ability of phytoplankton to cope with other factors. Here, we experimentally apply expectations on the functional importance of phytoplankton cell size to the community level. We used a natural marine plankton community, and first altered the community’s cell size structure by exposing it to six different grazer densities. The size-shifted communities were then treated with a saturated nutrient pulse to test how the changes in community size structure influenced the mean community growth rate in the short-term (day 1–3) and nutrient storage capacity in the postbloom phase. Copepod grazing reduced the medium-sized phytoplankton and increased the share of the smallest (<10 µm³) and the largest (>100,000 µm³). Communities composed of on average small cells grew faster in response to the nutrient pulse, and thus confirmed the previously suggested growth advantage of small cells for the community level. In contrast, larger phytoplankton showed better storage capabilities, reflected in a slower post-bloom decline of communities that were on average composed of larger cells. Our findings underline that the easily measurable mean cell size of a taxonomically complex phytoplankton community can be used as an indicator trait to predict phytoplankton responses to sequential environmental changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 2102 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Composition and Dominance of Edible and Inedible Phytoplankton Predict Responses of Baltic Sea Summer Communities to Elevated Temperature and CO₂

by Carolin Paul, Ulrich Sommer and Birte Matthiessen

Microorganisms 2021, 9(11), 2294; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112294 - 4 Nov 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1916

Abstract

Previous studies with Baltic Sea phytoplankton combining elevated seawater temperature with CO₂ revealed the importance of size trait-based analyses, in particular dividing the plankton into edible (>5 and <100 µm) and inedible (<5 and >100 µm) size classes for mesozoopankton grazers. While the edible phytoplankton responded predominantly negative to warming and the inedible group stayed unaffected or increased, independent from edibility most phytoplankton groups gained from CO₂. Because the ratio between edible and inedible taxa changes profoundly over seasons, we investigated if community responses can be predicted according to the prevailing composition of edible and inedible groups. We experimentally explored the combined effects of elevated temperatures and CO₂ concentrations on a late-summer Baltic Sea community. Total phytoplankton significantly increased in response to elevated CO₂ in particular in combination with temperature, driven by a significant gain of the inedible <5 µm fraction and large filamentous cyanobacteria. Large flagellates disappeared. The edible group was low as usual in summer and decreased with both factors due to enhanced copepod grazing and overall decline of small flagellates. Our results emphasize that the responses of summer communities are complex, but can be predicted by the composition and dominance of size classes and groups. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights on Phytoplankton Morpho-Functional Traits)

► Show Figures