TY  - JOUR
A1  - Klauschies, Toni
A1  - Bauer, Barbara
A1  - Aberle-Malzahn, Nicole
A1  - Sommer, Ulrich
A1  - Gaedke, Ursula
T1  - Climate change effects on phytoplankton depend on cell size and food web structure
T2  - Marine biology : international journal on life in oceans and coastal waters
N2  - We investigated the effects of warming on a natural phytoplankton community from the Baltic Sea, based on six mesocosm experiments conducted 2005-2009. We focused on differences in the dynamics of three phytoplankton size groups which are grazed to a variable extent by different zooplankton groups. While small-sized algae were mostly grazer-controlled, light and nutrient availability largely determined the growth of medium- and large-sized algae. Thus, the latter groups dominated at increased light levels. Warming increased mesozooplankton grazing on medium-sized algae, reducing their biomass. The biomass of small-sized algae was not affected by temperature, probably due to an interplay between indirect effects spreading through the food web. Thus, under the higher temperature and lower light levels anticipated for the next decades in the southern Baltic Sea, a higher share of smaller phytoplankton is expected. We conclude that considering the size structure of the phytoplankton community strongly improves the reliability of projections of climate change effects.
Y1  - 2012
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/35557
SN  - 0025-3162
VL  - 159
IS  - 11
SP  - 2455
EP  - 2478
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  -