Project: Planktonic interactions in a changing ocean: Biological responses of Emiliania huxleyi to elevated pCO2 and their effects on microzooplankton

Acronym/Short Name:E Hux Response to pCO2
Project Duration:2010-02 - 2014-03

Description

Description from NSF award abstract:
The calcifying Haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi appears to be acutely sensitive to the rising concentration of ocean pCO2. Documented responses by E. huxleyi to elevated pCO2 include modifications to their calcification rate and cell size, malformation of coccoliths, elevated growth rates, increased organic carbon production, lowering of PIC:POC ratios, and elevated production of the active climate gas DMS. Changes in these parameters are mechanisms known to elicit alterations in grazing behavior by microzooplankton, the oceans dominant grazer functional group. The investigators hypothesize that modifications to the physiology and biochemistry of calcifying and non-calcifying Haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi in response to elevated pCO2 will precipitate alterations in microzooplankton grazing dynamics. To test this hypothesis, they will conduct controlled laboratory experiments where several strains of E. huxleyi are grown at several CO2 concentrations. After careful characterization of the biochemical and physiological responses of the E. huxleyi strains to elevated pCO2, they will provide these strains as food to several ecologically-important microzooplankton and document grazing dynamics. E. huxleyi is an ideal organism for the study of phytoplankton and microzooplankton responses to rising anthropogenic CO2, the effects of which in the marine environment are called ocean acidification; E. huxleyi is biogeochemically important, is well studied, numerous strains are in culture that exhibit variation in the parameters described above, and they are readily fed upon by ecologically important microzooplankton.

The implications of changes in microzooplankton grazing for carbon cycling, specifically CaCO3 export, DMS production, nutrient regeneration in surface waters, and carbon transfer between trophic levels are profound, as this grazing, to a large degree, regulates all these processes. E. huxleyi is a model prey organism because it is one of the most biogeochemically influential global phytoplankton. It forms massive seasonal blooms, contributes significantly to marine inorganic and organic carbon cycles, is a large producer of the climatically active gas DMS, and is a source of organic matter for trophic levels both above and below itself. The planned controlled study will increase our knowledge of the mechanisms that drive patterns of change between trophic levels, thus providing a wider array of tools necessary to understand the complex nature of ocean acidification field studies, where competing variables can confound precise interpretation.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Grazing experiment 7:Long term microzooplankton ingestion and growth on low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures ingested by Gyrodinium grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 7: Carbonate chemistry data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures and long term grazing treatments (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 7: Cell size measurements of low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 7: Cellular carbohydrate data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiments 7: Daily cell count data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 7: Carbon and Nitrogen data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 7: Cellular lipid data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiments 7: Daily Rhodomonas counts during grazing acclimation for low-high pCO2 acclimated cells (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 7: Chlorophyll-a data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures from 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-14Final no updates expected
Carbon and nitrogen content of E. huxleyi at 3 pCO2 levels, 2011-2012 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-13Final no updates expected
Grazing experiments 6: Daily cell count data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6: Chlorophyll-a data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures from 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6: Short term microzooplankton ingestion on low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures ingested by Coxliella grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiments 6: Daily Rhodomonas counts during grazing acclimation for low-high pCO2 acclimated cells (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6: Carbonate chemistry data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures and long term grazing treatments (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6:Long term microzooplankton ingestion and growth on low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures ingested by Coxliella grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6: Cellular carbohydrate data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6: Cell size measurements of low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6: Carbon and Nitrogen data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 6: Cellular lipid data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-12Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5: Carbonate chemistry of Rhodomonas for low-high pCO2 long term experiment treatments, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiments 5: Daily cell count data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5: Carbon and Nitrogen data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5: Cellular carbohydrate data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5: Cell size measurements of low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5: Chlorophyll-a data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures from 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5: Short term microzooplankton ingestion on low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures ingested by Oxyrrhis grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5: Carbonate chemistry data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 5:Long term microzooplankton ingestion and growth on low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures ingested by Oxyrrhis grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-09Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 4a: Short term data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures ingested by Gyrodinium grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-06Final no updates expected
Short term data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures ingested by Favella grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-06Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 4: Carbonate chemistry data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-06Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 4: Cell size measurements of low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-06Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 4: Cellular carbohydrate data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures, 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-06Final no updates expected
Grazing experiments 4: Daily cell count data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-12-06Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 4: Carbon and Nitrogen data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-11-10Final no updates expected
Grazing experiment 4: Chlorophyll-a data for low-high pCO2 acclimated Rhodomonas sp. cultures from 2011-2016 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-11-10Final no updates expected
Microzooplankton ingestion on low to high pCO2 acclimated E. huxleyi: Favella and Oxyrrhis as grazers (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-10-18Final no updates expected
Daily cell count data for low to high pCO2 acclimated E. huxleyi (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-10-11Final no updates expected
Carbon and Nitrogen values for low to high pCO2 acclimated Emiliania huxleyi (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-10-11Final no updates expected
Cell size measurements of low-high pCO2 acclimated E. huxleyi (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-10-11Final no updates expected
Carbonate chemistry data for low-high pCO2 acclimated E. huxleyi cultures (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2016-10-11Final no updates expected
Experimental results: Chlorophyll-a, POC, and cell volume of E. huxleyi at 3 pCO2 levels, 2011-2012 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2014-07-03Final no updates expected
Experimental results: Emiliania huxleyi growth rates under different pCO2 levels, 2011-2012 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2014-07-03Final no updates expected
Experimental results: Emiliania huxleyi growth rates under different pCO2 levels from Bellingham, WA from 2011-2012 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2014-07-03Final no updates expected
Carbonate data in experimental treatments of Emiliania huxleyi, 2011-2012 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2014-07-03Final no updates expected
Experimental results: cellular particulate DMSP from E. huxleyi at 3 pCO2 levels, 2011-2012 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2014-07-03Final no updates expected
SEM based morphology of Emiliania huxleyi, 2011-2012 (E Hux Response to pCO2 project)2014-07-03Final no updates expected

People

Lead Principal Investigator: M Brady Olson
Western Washington University - Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC)

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr Brooke Love
Western Washington University (WWU)

Co-Principal Investigator: Suzanne Strom
Western Washington University - Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC)