engleski

Exploring the structure of a planktonic ecosystem

The northern Adriatic is a very convenient ecosystem to observe phytoplankton under a variety of different conditions. Steep gradients of nutrient concentration/availability in this shallow basin allow the observation of the very same species under changing nutrient regimes on small temporal and spatial scales. After studying the in situ behavior of marine phytoplankton along the aforementioned gradients, we set out and isolated key species for in vitro experiments, where we analyzed their reactions to contrasting nutrient regimes. An imbalanced N/P ration in the basin and a resulting overall phosphate limitation appear to be a major driver and determining factor of the ecosystem. The reaction of key species to phosphate limitation and the resulting efficiency in niche formation and competition for ecological niches explain most of the in situ observations regarding abundance and spatio-temporal distribution of phytoplankton species. This study shows that in vitro characterization of phytoplankton species metabolic capabilities allows the prediction of their relative performance in in situ competition for resources.

phytoplankton ; Adriatic Sea ; diatoms ; APA ; P LIMITATION

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