RESUMEN
The impact of UV-B radiation (UVBR; 280-320 nm) on lower levels of a natural plankton assemblage (bacteria, phytoplankton and microzooplankton) from the St. Lawrence Estuary was studied during 9 days using several immersed outdoor mesocosms. Two exposure treatments were used in triplicate mesocosms: natural UVBR (N treatment, considered as the control treatment) and lamp-enhanced UVBR (H treatment, simulating 60% depletion of the ozone layer). A phytoplankton bloom developed after day 3, but no significant differences were found between treatments during the entire experiment for phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a and cell carbon) nor for phytoplankton cell abundances from flow cytometry and optical microscopy of three phytoplankton size classes (picoplankton, nanoplankton and microplankton). In contrast, bacterial abundances showed significantly higher values in the H treatment, attributed to a decrease in predation pressure due to a dramatic reduction in ciliate biomass (approximately 70-80%) in the H treatment relative to the N treatment. The most abundant ciliate species were Strombidinium sp., Prorodon ovum and Tintinnopsis sp.; all showed significantly lower abundances under the H treatment. P. ovum was the less-affected species (50% reduction in the H treatment compared with that of the N control), contrasting with approximately 90% for the other ones. Total specific phytoplanktonic and bacterial production were not affected by enhanced UVBR. However, both the ratio of primary to bacterial biomass and production decreased markedly under the H treatment. In contrast, the ratio of phytoplankton to bacterial plus ciliate carbon biomass showed an opposite trend than the previous results, with higher values in the H treatment at the end of the experiment. These results are explained by the changes in the ciliate biomass and suggest that UVBR can alter the structure of the lower levels of the planktonic community by selectively affecting key species. On the other hand, linearity between particulate organic carbon (POC) and estimated planktonic carbon was lost during the postbloom period in both treatments. On the basis of previous studies, our results can be attributed to the aggregation of carbon released by cells to the water column in the form of transparent exopolymer particles (TEPs) under nutrient limiting conditions. Unexpectedly, POC during such a period was higher in the H treatment than in controls. We hypothesize a decrease in the ingestion of TEPs by ciliates, in coincidence with increased DOC release by phytoplankton cells under enhanced UVBR. The consequences of such results for the carbon cycle in the ocean are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Cadena Alimentaria , Plancton/efectos de la radiación , Rayos Ultravioleta , Animales , Biomasa , Carbono/metabolismo , Ácidos Linoleicos/metabolismo , Océanos y Mares , Fotosíntesis , Plancton/fisiología , Temperatura , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
A microcosm approach was designed to study the combined effects of tributyltin (TBT) from antifouling paints and ultraviolet-B radiation (UVBR: 280-320 nm), on a natural planktonic assemblage (<150 microm) isolated from the St. Lawrence Estuary at the end of the springtime. Microcosms (9l, cylindrical Teflon bags, 75 cm heightx25 cm width) were immersed in the water column of mesocosms (1800 l, polyethylene bags, 2.3 m depth) and exposed to two different UVBR regimes: natural ambient UVBR (NUVBR), and enhanced level of UVBR (HUVBR). During consecutive 5 days, effects of TBT (120 ng l -1) and enhanced UVBR (giving a biologically weighted UVBR 2.15-fold higher than natural light condition) were monitored in the samples coming from following treatments: (i) NUVBR light condition without TBT (NUVBR), (ii) NUVBR light condition with TBT-added (NUVBR+TBT), (iii) HUVBR light condition without TBT (HUVBR) and (iv) HUVBR light condition with TBT-added (HUVBR+TBT). Each treatment was conducted in triplicate microcosms. Different parameters were then measured during 5 days, including TBT analysis, bacterial abundance and productivity, phytoplankton abundance, cellular characteristics and growth rates, as well as in vivo chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence. Following TBT addition (NUVBR+TBT treatment), Chl a concentrations never exceeded 1 microg l-1 whereas final values as high as 54 microg l-1 were observed in TBT-free treatments (NUVBR and HUVBR). TBT addition resulted also in the lost of fluorescence signal of the maximum efficiency of the photosystem II in phytoplankton assemblage. TBT toxicity caused on phytoplankton <20 microm an increase of mean cell size and changes in shape reflected a drastic disturbance of the cell cycle leading to an inhibition of the apparent growth rate. These negative effects of TBT resulted in a final abundance of phytoplankton <20 microm of 591+/-35 cells ml-1 in NUVBR+TBT relative to NUVBR treatment (i.e., 31,846+/-312 cells ml-1). Moreover, when cells were submitted to TBT under enhanced UVBR (HUVBR+TBT treatment), final abundance of phytoplankton <20 microm was only 182+/-90 cells ml-1, with a significant interaction between TBT and UVBR during the last 2 days of the experiment. The same type of interaction was also observed for bacterial abundance in NUVBR+TBT and HUVBR+TBT with stimulation of 226 and of 403%, respectively due to TBT addition relative to NUVBR treatment. When considering bacterial productivity, TBT addition resulted in an inhibition of 32%, and this inhibition was significantly more pronounced under dual stresses (i.e., 77% in HUVBR+TBT). These results clearly demonstrate that the combination of TBT and UVBR stresses have synergistic effects affecting the first trophic levels of the marine food web.