Short-term effects of increasing CO2, nitrate and temperature on three Mediterranean macroalgae: biochemical composition

F. L. Figueroa; J. Bonomi Barufi; E. J. Malta; R. Conde-Álvarez; U. Nitschke; F. Arenas; M. Mata; S. Connan; M. H. Abreu; R. Marquardt; F. Vaz-Pinto; T. Konotchick; P. S. M. Celis-Plá; M. Hermoso; G. Ordoñez; E. Ruiz; P. Flores; J. de los Ríos; D. Kirke; F. Chow; C. A. G. Nassar; D. Robledo; Á. Pérez-Ruzafa; E. Bañares-España; M. Altamirano; C. Jiménez; N. Korbee; K. Bischof; D. B. Stengel

doi:10.3354/ab00610

Aquatic Biology

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AB 22:177-193 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00610

Theme Section: Environmental forcing of aquatic primary productivity

Short-term effects of increasing CO₂, nitrate and temperature on three Mediterranean macroalgae: biochemical composition

F. L. Figueroa¹, J. Bonomi Barufi², E. J. Malta^3,*, R. Conde-Álvarez¹, U. Nitschke⁴, F. Arenas⁵, M. Mata¹, S. Connan^6,7, M. H. Abreu⁸, R. Marquardt⁹, F. Vaz-Pinto⁵, T. Konotchick¹⁰, P. S. M. Celis-Plá¹, M. Hermoso¹, G. Ordoñez¹, E. Ruiz¹, P. Flores¹, J. de los Ríos¹, D. Kirke⁴, F. Chow¹¹, C. A. G. Nassar¹², D. Robledo¹³, Á. Pérez-Ruzafa¹⁴, E. Bañares-España¹⁵, M. Altamirano¹⁵, C. Jiménez¹, N. Korbee¹, K. Bischof¹⁶, D. B. Stengel⁴

¹Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain

Complete list of author addresses is in the Appendix

*Corresponding author: ejmalta@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT: Short-term effects of increasing pCO₂; 380 ppm (LC) vs. 700 ppm (HC); at different nitrogen levels; 5 µM nitrate (LN) vs. 50 µM (HN); on the contents of protein, mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), phenolic compounds and total fatty acids, antioxidant activity, calcification and C:N ratios were analyzed in 3 eulittoral Mediterranean macroalgae with different bio-optical characteristics and carbon assimilation efficiencies: Cystoseira tamariscifolia (Heterokontophyta), Ulva rigida (Chlorophyta) and Ellisolandia elongata (Rhodophyta). After acclimation to different pCO₂ and nitrogen conditions for 6 d, the algae were subjected to a 4°C temperature increase for 3 d. Increasing temperature and pCO₂ produced alterations in the biochemical composition of the 3 macroalgae. Short-term variations of protein levels were observed in U. rigida, with clearly decreased values in the HCLN treatment. In C. tamariscifolia, protein decreased after the temperature increase but only under LC. The interaction of temperature and N affected phenolic compounds only in U. rigida and the content of MAAs in E. elongata. The functional patterns of the 3 macroalgae in response to the pCO₂, nitrogen and temperature regimes may be explained in terms of their bio-optical characteristics and antioxidant activity. The vulnerability and acclimation of the 3 species to the expected variations of climate change factors are discussed.

KEY WORDS: Acidification · Climate change · Cystoseira tamariscifolia · Ellisolandia elongata · Nitrate · Short-term experiment · Temperature · Ulva rigida

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Cite this article as: Figueroa FL, Bonomi Barufi J, Malta EJ, Conde-Álvarez R and others (2014) Short-term effects of increasing CO₂, nitrate and temperature on three Mediterranean macroalgae: biochemical composition. Aquat Biol 22:177-193. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00610

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