Variability of phytoplankton light absorption in stratified waters of the NW Mediterranean Sea: The interplay between pigment composition and the packaging effect

Pérez, Gonzalo L.; Galí, Martí; Royer, Sarah-Jeanne; Gerea, Marina; Ortega−Retuerta, Eva; Gasol, Josep M.; Marrasé, Cèlia; Simó, Rafel

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2020.103460

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Because the phytoplankton community in the Singapore Strait does not undergo large seasonal changes (Gin et al 2000, Chénard et al 2019, our data most likely reflect phytoplankton photo-acclimation rather than a taxonomic community shift. Such chromatic adaptation by marine phytoplankton occurs in response to variation in the light environment (Hickman et al 2009, Isada et al 2013, Pérez et al 2021. Whether the changes we observed in the a phyto spectra were driven more by the seasonal change in spectral light quality or more by the re duction in total light intensity is unclear, but they suggest that the seasonal change in light availability caused by peatland CDOM was sufficiently large to drive changes in phytoplankton pigment composition.…”

Section: Ecological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Dissolved organic matter from tropical peatlands reduces shelf sea light availability in the Singapore Strait, Southeast Asia

Martin

Sanwlani

Lee

et al. 2021

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Shelf seas provide valuable ecosystem services, but their productivity and ecological functioning depend critically on sunlight transmitted through the water column. Anthropogenic reductions in underwater light availability are thus a serious threat to coastal habitats. The flux of light-absorbing coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from land to sea may have increased world-wide, but how this has altered the availability and spectral quality of light in shelf seas remains poorly known. We present time-series data from the Sunda Shelf in Southeast Asia, where the monsoon-driven reversal in ocean currents supplies water enriched in CDOM from tropical peatlands for part of the year, resulting in 5- to 10-fold seasonal variation in light absorption by CDOM. We show that this terrigenous CDOM can dominate underwater light absorption at wavelengths up to 500 nm, and shift the underwater irradiance spectrum towards longer wavelengths. The seasonal presence of terrigenous CDOM also reduces the 10% light penetration depth by 1-5 m, or 10-45%. We estimate that on average 0.6 m, or 25%, of this terrigenous CDOM-mediated shoaling might be attributable to the enhanced input of dissolved organic matter following peatland disturbance. The seasonal change in the light environment is correlated with changes in phytoplankton absorption spectra that suggest a photo-acclimation response, and we infer that terrigenous CDOM likely contributes to limiting the depth distribution of photosynthetic corals. The results reveal an ecologically important but largely overlooked impact of human modifications to carbon fluxes that is likely increasingly important in coastal seas.

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Section: Ecological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Dissolved organic matter from tropical peatlands reduces shelf sea light availability in the Singapore Strait, Southeast Asia

Martin

Sanwlani

Lee

et al. 2021

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Phytoplankton diversity emerging from chromatic adaptation and competition for light

Alvarez

Lazzari

Cossarini

2022

Progress in Oceanography

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Dissolved organic matter from tropical peatlands impacts shelf sea light availability on coral reefs in the Singapore Strait, Southeast Asia

Martin

Sanwlani

Lee

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Shelf seas provide valuable ecosystem services, but their productivity and ecological functioning depend critically on sunlight transmitted through the water column. Anthropogenic reductions in underwater light availability are thus recognized as a serious threat to coastal habitats. The flux of strongly light-absorbing coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from land to sea may have increased world-wide, but how this has altered the availability and spectral quality of light in shelf seas remains poorly known. Here, we present time-series data from the Sunda Shelf in Southeast Asia, where the monsoon-driven reversal in ocean currents supplies water enriched in CDOM from tropical peatlands for part of the year, resulting in 5–10-fold seasonal variation in light absorption by CDOM. We show that this terrigenous CDOM can dominate underwater light absorption at wavelengths up to 500 nm, and shift in the underwater irradiance spectrum towards longer wavelengths. The seasonal presence of terrigenous CDOM also causes the depth of 10% light penetration to shoal by 1–5 m, or 10–45%. We further estimate that on average 0.6 m, or 25%, of this terrigenous CDOM-mediated shoaling might be attributable to the enhanced loss of dissolved organic matter caused by peatland disturbance. We show that the seasonal change in the light environment is correlated with photo-acclimation by phytoplankton, and infer that terrigenous CDOM likely contributes to limiting the depth distribution of photosynthetic corals. Our results thus reveal an ecologically important but largely overlooked impact of human modifications to carbon fluxes that is likely becoming increasingly important in coastal seas.

show abstract

Variability of phytoplankton light absorption in stratified waters of the NW Mediterranean Sea: The interplay between pigment composition and the packaging effect

Cited by 6 publications

References 100 publications

Dissolved organic matter from tropical peatlands reduces shelf sea light availability in the Singapore Strait, Southeast Asia

Dissolved organic matter from tropical peatlands reduces shelf sea light availability in the Singapore Strait, Southeast Asia

Phytoplankton diversity emerging from chromatic adaptation and competition for light

Dissolved organic matter from tropical peatlands impacts shelf sea light availability on coral reefs in the Singapore Strait, Southeast Asia

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