Effects of High CO2 on
Marine Plants
Leander Love-Anderegg
Bio 433
4/8/2013
S
CO2 = Plant food, right?
CO2
+
Light
CO2
+
Light
CO2 Fertilization
(e.g. Cao & Woodward (1998) Nature)
CO2 Fertilization in the Sea
1) Physiological response:
Riebesell (2004) J. of Oceanography
The physiological flipside
S Ocean acidification
 Winners and losers,
But effects still
uncertain
Rost et al. (2008) Marine Ecol. Prog. Series
2) Ecological effects
S CO2 concentration can shift
community structure
Direct and indirect effects shift
competitive balance of
phytoplankton assemblages
Shikano and Kawabato (2000)
Hydrobiologia
Riebesell (2004) J. of Oceanography
3) Evolutionary Effects
S Phytoplankton phase out use of CCMs over multiple
generations (Bell et al. (2008) Evolutionary Applications)
S Short generation time  evolutionary potential reasonably
large
The Forecast?
S Overall increase in
phytoplankton NPP
S But not as large as might
predict
S Evolutionary responses will
likely dampen effects
S Phytoplankton community
shifts (with possible
ecological consequences)
Sources:
1. Bell, G. and S. Collins. 2008. Adaptation, extinction and global
change. Evolutionary Applications. 1:3-16.
2. Riebesell, U. 2004. Effects of CO(2) enrichment on marine
phytoplankton. Journal of Oceanography. 60:719-729.
3. Rost, B., I. Zondervan and D. Wolf-Gladrow. 2008. Sensitivity of
phytoplankton to future changes in ocean carbonate chemistry: current
knowledge, contradictions and research directions. Marine Ecology
Progress Series. 373:227-237.
4. Shikano, S. and Z. Kawabata. 2000. Effect at the ecosystem level of
elevated atmospheric CO2 in an aquatic microcosm. Hydrobiologia.
436:209-216.
5. Wolf-Gladrow, D.A., U. Riebesell, S. Burkhardt and J. Bijma. 1999.
Direct effects of CO2 concentration on growth and isotopic
composition of marine plankton, pp 461-476.
6. Woodward, F.I. and M.R. Lomas. 2004. Vegetation dynamics simulating responses to climatic change. Biological Reviews. 79:643670.
Photo credits:
rachelsussman.com, wikipedia.com/phytoplankton, http://www-v1.amnh.org/