In their seminal paper, Goldman et al. suggested that phytoplankton close to maximum growth rate attains a restricted optimal N : P ratio close to the Redfield ratio of molar N : P = 16. Recently, the presence of such a global attractor for optimal phytoplankton stoichiometry has been questioned in models and empirical analyses. As the chemical composition of phytoplankton is of major importance for our understanding of global elemental cycles and biogeochemical transformations, we assembled 55 data sets of phytoplankton growth rate and biomass N : P ratios in a meta‐analysis testing (1) whether phytoplankton N : P converges at high growth rates, (2) whether N : P ratios scale with growth rate, and (3) whether the optimal N : P ratios achieved at highest growth rates reflect organism traits or environmental conditions. Across systems and species, phytoplankton N : P decreased with increasing growth rate and at the same time showed decreasing variance, i.e., fast‐growing phytoplankton is more P rich and has a more confined elemental composition. Optimal N : P increased with increasing N : P of available nutrients, i.e., with increasing P limitation. Other differences were rare, except cyanobacteria showed higher optimal N : P than diatoms. Understanding the role of phytoplankton in biogeochemical transformation requires modeling approaches that are stoichiometrically flexible to reflect the dynamics of growth and nutrient supply in primary producers.

Herbivores are generally faced with a plethora of resources which differ in quality. Therefore, they should be able to select foods which most closely match their metabolic needs. Here, we tested the hypothesis that copepods of the species Acartia tonsa select prey cells based on quality differences within prey species. We assessed age‐specific variation in feeding behaviour and evaluated the potential consequences of such variation for nutrient cycles. Nauplii (young) stages characterized by a low nitrogen to phosphorus (N:P) ratio in their body tissue selected for phosphorus‐rich food, while older copepodite stages with higher body N:P selected for nitrogen‐rich food. Further, the analysis of a 35‐year data set in the southern North Sea revealed a positive correlation between the abundance of nauplii and the ratio of dissolved inorganic N:P, thus suggesting that P‐availability for primary producers declines with the population densities of nauplii. Our findings demonstrate that a combination of stage‐specific selective feeding and body stoichiometry has the potential to affect cycling of limiting nutrients when consumer populations change in composition.

Herbivory is more prevalent in the tropics than at higher latitudes. If differences in ambient temperature are the direct cause for this phenomenon, then the same pattern should be visible in a seasonal gradient, as well as in experiments manipulating temperature. Using (15)N stable isotope analyses of natural populations of the copepod Temora longicornis we indeed observed seasonal differences in the trophic level of the copepod and a decrease in trophic level with increasing temperature. In a grazing experiment, with a mixed diet of the cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina and the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina, T. longicornis preferred the cryptophyte at higher temperatures, whereas at lower temperatures it preferred the non-autotrophic prey. We explain these results by the higher relative carbon content of primary producers compared to consumers, in combination with the higher demand for metabolic carbon at higher temperatures. Thus, currently increasing temperatures may cause changes in dietary preferences of many consumers.

Mesocosm experiments coupled with dilution grazing experiments were carried out during the phytoplankton spring bloom 2009. The interactions between phytoplankton, microzooplankton and copepods were investigated using natural plankton communities obtained from Helgoland Roads (54°11.3 0 N; 7°54.0 0 E), North Sea. In the absence of mesozooplankton grazers, the microzooplankton rapidly responded to different prey availabilities; this was most pronounced for ciliates such as strombidiids and strobilids. The occurrence of ciliates was strongly dependent on specific prey and abrupt losses in their relative importance with the disappearance of their prey were observed. Thecate and athecate dinoflagellates had a broader food spectrum and slower reaction times compared with ciliates. In general, high microzooplankton potential grazing impacts with an average consumption of 120% of the phytoplankton production (P p ) were measured. Thus, the decline in phytoplankton biomass could be mainly attributed to an intense grazing by microzooplankton. Copepods were less important phytoplankton grazers consuming on average only 47% of P p . Microzooplankton in turn contributed a substantial part to the copepods' diets especially with decreasing quality of phytoplankton food due to nutrient limitation over the course of the bloom. Copepod grazing rates exceeded microzooplankton growth, suggesting their strong top-down control potential on microzooplankton in the field.Selective grazing by microzooplankton was an important factor for stabilising a bloom of less-preferred diatom species in our mesocosms with specific species (Thalassiosira spp., Rhizosolenia spp. and Chaetoceros spp.) dominating the bloom. This study demonstrates the importance of microzooplankton grazers for structuring and controlling phytoplankton spring blooms in temperate waters and the important role of copepods as top-down regulators of microzooplankton.