BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC

oai:digital.csic.es:10261/303758

The temperature-size rule states that as the temperature increases, the body size of organisms decreases. This rule has been observed in a wide range of organisms, including marine phytoplankton and it is particularly important to model and predict the effects of global warming on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. This is so because the size of marine phytoplankton is a critical trait that determines their ecological and biogeochemical roles in marine ecosystems. The size of marine phytoplankton is also affected by resource availability, which relates to growth rates. Here, we compare the effects of a long-term exposure to several temperatures on the cell size of three marine microalgae during their growth curves. The species chosen were the cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina, the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa niei, and the diatom Conticribra (previously Thalassiosira) weissflogii. All algae conformed the temperature-size rule during all the phases of the growth curve. However, the size variations of the microalgae in each of the phases were species-specific. R. salina and H. niei showed higher volumes in the exponential growth phase than during the decline of growth and early stationary phases. Contrarily, the diatom showed smaller volumes during the exponential phase of growth than during the other phases. Overall, the effects of growth rate on cell size exceeded those of temperature for the expected ocean warming by the end of the century. These results also partially support the higher relevance of resource supply than temperature in explaining the variability of phytoplankton size structure in marine ecosystems, This research was funded by Grant PID2020-118645RB-I00 by Ministerio de Ciencia e innovación (MCIN)/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), Para las tres microalgas, Rhodomonas salina, Heterocapsa niei, Conticribra weissflogii, abundancias, y volumen a diferentes temperaturas, Peer reviewed