Phytoplankton communities under global change: the many faces of temperature
Abstract: Water temperatures are increasing worldwide. However, it is not only the mean temperature that is relevant but also the increase in thermal fluctuations as well as the frequency and intensity of temperature. Phytoplankton are excellent model organisms to investigate the impact of these temperature changes on aquatic food webs due to their relevance for primary production, their fast generation times and their extraordinarily high trait diversity. Plankton organisms are specialized for certain and very individual temperature ranges (optima, tolerances) and thus changes in temperatures induce changes in competition and affect the structure of phytoplankton communities that will have far-reaching consequences on the whole food web. While phytoplankton are naturally exposed to fluctuating environments and thus are well-adapted and more resilient to fluctuations, the temporal pattern of multiple abiotic stressor occurrences (e.g., whether they are applied sequentially or simultaneously) defines the magnitude and direction of their combined effect, highlighting the importance but lack of consideration of timing in multi-stressor environments.
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