The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Phytoplankton
A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Diversity".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019)
Special Issue Editors
Interests: phytoplankton ecophysiology; ocean acidification; climate change; trace metals; volcanic ash; multiple stressors; pigments
Interests: phytoplankton ecology; microbial ecology; ocean acidification
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Marine phytoplankton are a phylogenetically diverse group of organisms, considered together due to their shared occupancy of the surface ocean and predominantly photoautotrophic life mode. The major phytoplankton groups span two kingdoms and include diatoms, coccolithophores, green algae, dinoflagellates, and cyanobacteria. Combined, marine phytoplankton are responsible for approximately 50% of global primary production, and play a key role in marine food webs and biogeochemical cycling. The vast phylogenetic diversity in phytoplankton corresponds to substantive functional diversity. For example, diatoms and coccolithophores are significant contributors to carbon export due to their heavy biogenic structures. Dinoflagellates account for a large fraction of phytoplankton primary production and form important connections in marine food webs due to their complex life modes. Cyanobacteria are the numerically dominant primary producers in tropical and subtropical oceans and harbor diazotrophic genera which dominate planktonic nitrogen fixation.
The dissolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide into the surface ocean, driven by anthropogenic emissions, is altering inorganic carbon speciation and decreasing mean surface ocean pH in a process known as ocean acidification. The physiological, ecological, and evolutionary responses of marine phytoplankton to ocean acidification might have major implications for marine food webs and biogeochemical cycles in a future ocean. Despite the significant research effort dedicated to understanding phytoplankton responses to ocean acidification, considerable gaps remain in our understanding.
This Special Issue highlights new advances in our understanding of phytoplankton responses to ocean acidification alone and in combination with other environmental perturbations, and the implications of these responses for the functioning of marine ecosystems in a future ocean.
Dr. Linn HoffmannDr. Ro Allen
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Ocean acidification
- Marine phytoplankton
- Phytoplankton ecology
- Phytoplankton physiology
- Phytoplankton evolution
- Multiple stressors
- Impacts on ecosystems
