Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2022
Temporal escape-adaptation to eutrophication by Skeletonema marinoi
Olofsson, Malin; Almen, Anna-Karin; Jaatinen, Kim; Scheinin, MatiasAbstract
Diatoms commonly set off the spring-bloom in temperate coastal environments. However, their temporal offset may change in regions subject to nutrient enrichment, and by peaking earlier, such populations can maintain their position in the vernal plankton succession. We tested whether the marine keystone diatom Skeletonema marinoi can accomplish this through thermal evolutionary adaptation. Eight geographically separated subpopulations, representing hydromorphologically and climatologically similar inlets displaying a range of trophic states, were compared in a common-garden experiment. At early-spring temperatures, both doubling times and variation coefficients thereof, correlated negatively with the trophic state of the environment of origin, indicating selection for fast growth due to eutrophication. At mid-spring temperatures, the relationships were reversed, indicating selection in the opposite direction. At late-spring temperatures, no significant relationships were detected, suggesting relaxed selection. Subsequent field observations reflected these findings, where blooming temperatures decreased with trophic state. Natural selection thus moves along with eutrophication towards colder temperatures earlier in the spring, favouring genotypes with the capacity to grow fast. The thermal niche shift demonstrated herein may be an evolutionary mechanism essentially leading to trophic changes in the local ecosystem.Keywords
Baltic Sea; resting stages; elevated temperatures; climate change; diatoms; eutrophicationPublished in
FEMS Microbiology Letters2022, volume: 369, number: 1
Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Authors' information
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Almen, Anna-Karin
University of Helsinki
Jaatinen, Kim
Nature and Game Management Trust
Scheinin, Matias
University of Helsinki
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG14 Life below water
UKÄ Subject classification
Microbiology
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnac011
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/116773