US-China Planning Visit: Increased Temperature, Ocean Acidification, and Cultural Eutrophication Effects on Phytoplankton Production and Trophic Transfer of Essential Fatty Acids

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PROJECT ABSTRACTOcean acidification, increasing temperature, and cultural eutrophication are measurable and increasing impacts resulting from human activities. All three of these stresses impact surface waters, where the photosynthesis of single-celled, plant-like organisms (phytoplankton) are depended upon to support marine food webs. This planning project aims to catalyze a research collaboration between US and Chinese researchers to study how the combined effect of these stresses alter the production of essential fatty acids by phytoplankton, and how these changes, in turn, affect the marine food web. The implications are profound because higher organisms, including humans, rely upon phytoplankton to produce these special compounds for our nutrition. The project will be led by Drs. Mark Wells, Lawrence Mayer, and Charles Trick (University of Maine), Dr. William Cochlan (San Francisco State University), and Dr. Robert Bidigare (University of Hawaii) for the US side. Our Chinese colleagues at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, are Drs. Kunshan Gao, Minhan Dai, Yunwei Dong, Pinghe Cai, and Binzhang Chen. The planning proposal will focus on using the combined chemical and ecosystem expertise of these participants along with state-of-the-art mesocosm facilities at the Dong Shan Marine Laboratory, Xiamen University to study how synergies among ocean acidification, increased temperature, and eutrophication affect the nutritional quality of the foundational food web.Overall, the purpose of this collaboration is to elicit how the combined effects of increasing temperature, ocean acidification and nutrient flux affect the production and trophic transfer of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and essential fatty acids (EFAs) from phytoplankton to zooplankton. The synergistic effects of these stresses will impact cell physiology as well as competitive success among phytoplankton species, both leading to alterations in the pool of available PUFAs and EFAs to zooplankton. In turn, zooplankton (and mixotrophy) feeding preferences will impact the trophic transfer efficiency of EFAs and the fecundity/growth of the grazers. The project members have a combined expertise spanning ocean chemistry, phytoplankton physiology, nutrient acquisition, lipid production and analysis, zooplankton physiology, and the operation of large-scale mesocosms. The objectives of the planning visit are: 1) to design an innovative experimental study using their new, world-class floating and shore-based mesocosm facilities, and 2) to collaboratively write joint research proposals for submission to the US and Chinese funding agencies. The collaboration will generate training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and will develop innovative new approaches to the use of mesocosm technologies.