The trophic significance of Phaeocystis blooms

Weisse, Thomas; Tande, Kurt S.; Verity, Peter G.; Hansen, FC; Gieskes, W.W.C.

doi:10.1016/0924-7963(94)90017-5

Cited by 117 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Potentially, it could be grazed, sink to the ocean floor, or be remineralized by bacteria. Phaeocystis cells and colonies can be ingested by zooplankton (Weisse et al 1994); however, grazing is more likely to contribute to, rather than cause, the disappearance of blooms (Wassman et al 1990;Riebesell et al 1995). Although Phaeocystis biomass has been found in sediment traps (Wassman et al 1990) and on the top of sediment cores (Riebesell et al 1995), direct sedimentation of cells and colonies does not seem to contribute significantly to vertical flux of Phaeocystis primary production.…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial breakdown of Phaeocystis mucopolysaccharides

Janse

Rijssel

Ottema

et al. 1999

Limnology & Oceanography

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Mucus from the microalga Phaeocystis was partially purified and used as the C source in various stable enrichment cultures wherein the mucus carbohydrates were degraded under oxic as well as anoxic conditions. The breakdown of mucopolysaccharides (initially at a rate of 50% in 11 d at 12ЊC) markedly slowed after about 15 d, leaving a fraction nondegraded. The carbohydrate composition of the residual fraction did not change during breakdown. It was shown that the incomplete degradation of mucopolysaccharides was not due to inherent resistance to breakdown in parts of the mucus carbohydrates but to the release of inhibitors produced during breakdown. The (potentially high) overall degradability of mucopolysaccharides has important consequences for the fate of C fixed by Phaeocystis. The balance between recycling of Phaeocystis biomass in surface waters and its accumulation, sedimentation, and burial in the sediment will greatly depend on factors such as nutrient availability, presence of inhibiting agents, and composition of the microbial community, rather than on structural impediments inhibiting mucopolysaccharide degradation.

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Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial breakdown of Phaeocystis mucopolysaccharides

Janse

Rijssel

Ottema

et al. 1999

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…This large pulse of production is sometimes described as a palatable input that drives classical food webs but at other times as a resource avoided by consumers, thus going primarily through the microbial food web, with this production being recycled by pelagic microbes (5,6). The effects of this variability on fisheries and local community structure can be considerable and could be generated by grazer-induced transformations between the two primary forms of most Phaeocystis species: solitary cells of 4-6 m and colonies that can reach up to 30,000 m in diameter (7).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical cues induce consumer-specific defenses in a bloom-forming marine phytoplankton

Long

Smalley

Barsby

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

133

142

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Blooms of the phytoplankton Phaeocystis can comprise 85% of total production and generate major biogeochemical signals across broad oceanic regions. The success of Phaeocystis may result from its ability to change size by many orders of magnitude when it shifts from small cells of 4 -6 m to large colonies of up to 30,000 m in diameter. Single cells are consumed by ciliates but not copepods, whereas colonies are consumed by copepods but not ciliates. We demonstrate that chemical cues associated with each of these grazers induce consumer-specific, but opposing, morphological transformations in the bloom-forming species Phaeocystis globosa. Chemical cues from grazing copepods suppress colony formation by a significant 60 -90%, a response that should be adaptive because copepods feed four times more on colonies versus solitary cells. In contrast, chemical cues from grazing ciliates enhance colony formation by >25%, a response that should be adaptive because ciliates grow three times faster when fed solitary cells versus colonies. Because size-selective predation fundamentally alters community structure and ecosystem function, this chemically cued shift may redirect energy and nutrients from food webs supporting fisheries to those fueling detrital pathways, thus potentially altering ecosystem-level processes such as productivity, carbon storage, and nutrient release.chemical signaling ͉ consumer-prey interaction ͉ inducible defense ͉ Phaeocystis ͉ size-selective predation

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“…Those blooms are often observed in the Southern Ocean, and e cient sedimentation of Phaeocystis-derived organic matter has been described (Riebesell 1993;Wassmann 1994;Lancelot et al 1998). Colonies or solitary cells of the haptophyte Phaeocystis pouchetii are ingested by a wide range of marine invertebrates (Weisse et al 1994). The combination of digestive tract and fatty acid analyses reveals a strong bentho-pelagic coupling, indicating that A. richardsoni feeds mostly on phytoplankton-derived material.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined lipid, fatty acid and digestive tract content analyses: a penetrating approach to estimate feeding modes of Antarctic amphipods

2001

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Antarctic amphipods from the Weddell Sea and Brans®eld Strait were collected to investigate the impact of various species and feeding types on lipid and fatty acid compositions. In combination with digestive tract content analyses, such information can help clarify the type of feeding mode of the various amphipod species. Micro-and macropredatory amphipod species had only small amounts of triacylglycerols as storage lipids, whereas the deposit-feeder

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The trophic significance of Phaeocystis blooms

Cited by 117 publications

References 44 publications

Microbial breakdown of Phaeocystis mucopolysaccharides

Microbial breakdown of Phaeocystis mucopolysaccharides

Chemical cues induce consumer-specific defenses in a bloom-forming marine phytoplankton

Combined lipid, fatty acid and digestive tract content analyses: a penetrating approach to estimate feeding modes of Antarctic amphipods

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