TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wacker, Alexander
A1  - Marzetz, Vanessa
A1  - Spijkerman, Elly
T1  - Interspecific competition in phytoplankton drives the availability of essential mineral and biochemical nutrients
T2  - Ecology : a publication of the Ecological Society of America
N2  - The underlying mechanisms and consequences of competition and diversity are central themes in ecology. A higher diversity of primary producers often results in higher resource use efficiency in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This may result in more food for consumers on one hand, while, on the other hand, it can also result in a decreased food quality for consumers; higher biomass combined with the same availability of the limiting compound directly reduces the dietary proportion of the limiting compound. Here we tested whether and how interspecific competition in phytoplankton communities leads to changes in resource use efficiency and cellular concentrations of nutrients and fatty acids. The measured particulate carbon : phosphorus ratios (C:P) and fatty acid concentrations in the communities were compared to the theoretically expected ratios and concentrations of measurements on simultaneously running monocultures. With interspecific competition, phytoplankton communities had higher concentrations of the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid and also much higher concentrations of the ecologically and physiologically relevant long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid than expected concentrations based on monocultures. Such higher availability of essential fatty acids may contribute to the positive relationship between phytoplankton diversity and zooplankton growth, and may compensate limitations by mineral nutrients in higher trophic levels.
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - C:P ratio
KW  - competition
KW  - eicosapentaenoic acid
KW  - elemental composition
KW  - EPA
KW  - food quality
KW  - minerals
KW  - phosphorus
KW  - polyunsaturated fatty acids
KW  - PUFA
KW  - resource use efficiency
Y1  - 2015
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/38639
SN  - 0012-9658
SN  - 1939-9170
VL  - 96
IS  - 9
SP  - 2467
EP  - 2477
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Washington
ER  -