The effects of ultraviolet radiation on the planktonic community of a shallow, eutrophic estuary: results of mesocosm experiments

This paper describes the results of pelagic mesocosm experiments designed to test the effects of enhanced and reduced ultraviolet radiation (UV) on the planktonic community of a Baltic Sea estuary. The Darss-Zingst estuary consists of a series of brackish lagoons with high concentrations of chlorophyll and dissolved organic matter. The shallow depth of the estuary ensures that organisms in the water are regularly exposed to high levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and UV. During the summer of 1995 and 1996, four 1-m³ mesocosms were filled with water from the mid-point of the estuary. Each compartment was equipped with a pump to simulate natural rates of wind-induced vertical mixing. The mesocosms were hung in the estuary from a floating raft and were shielded from above by filters to give the spectral treatments PAR only, PAR+UV-A, and PAR+UV-A+UV-B. Enhanced levels of UV-B, i.e. twice that of midday sunlight, were provided in a further treatment by artificial sunlamps. Experiments were conducted for periods of 3–14 days. No significant effects of enhanced or reduced UV-B were observed on chlorophyll a concentrations or photosynthetic performance, although the PAR-only treatment did show higher final chlorophyll concentrations in two of the trials. Phytoplankton pigment composition was measured by in vivo absorption and fluorescence excitation spectra, and was similar in all mesocosm treatments indicating that there were no major differences in functional group composition. Bacterial secondary production rates as measured by thymidine incorporation increased with time in all mesocosms, probably due to enhanced production of phytoplankton exudate. There was evidence for a small depression of secondary production by enhanced UV-B, but only on certain days. Microzooplankton generally increased in all mesocosms to population densities higher than those observed in the estuary, and tended to reach higher final values in the mesocosms exposed to UV. It is concluded that vertical mixing which reduces the residence time of planktonic organisms in the surface layers, and high concentrations of chromophoric, dissolved organic matter, which greatly reduce the penetration of UV-B, combined to protect the planktonic community from UV-B damage. Received in revised form: 5 June 2000 Electronic Publication     

Two mire species respond differently to enhanced ultraviolet-B radiation: effects on biomass allocation and root exudation

Increased ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation arising from stratospheric ozone depletion may influence soil microbial communities via effects on plant carbon allocation and root exudation. Eriophorum angustifolium and Narthecium ossifragum plants, grown in peatland mesocosms consisting of Sphagnum peat, peat pore water and natural microbial communities, were exposed outdoors to enhanced UV-B radiation simulating 15% ozone depletion in southern Scandinavia for 8 wk. Enhanced UV-B increased rhizome biomass and tended to decrease the biomass of the largest root fraction of N. ossifragum and furthermore decreased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and monocarboxylic acid concentration, which serves as an estimate of net root exudation, in the pore water of the N. ossifragum mesocosms. Monocarboxylic acid concentration was negatively related to the total carbon concentration of N. ossifragum leaves, which was increased by enhanced UV-B. By contrast, enhanced UV-B tended to increase monocarboxylic acid concentration in the rhizosphere of E. angustifolium and its root : shoot ratio. Microbial biomass carbon was increased by enhanced UV-B in the surface water of the E. angustifolium mesocosms. Increased UV-B radiation appears to alter below-ground biomass of the mire plants in species-specific patterns, which in turn leads to a change in the net efflux of root exudates.     

Effects of Microscale Water Level Fluctuations and Altered Ultraviolet Radiation on Periphytic Microbiota

Abstract Microscale fluctuations in water level (1–20 mm) are common on a diurnal basis in shallow (<5–10 cm) wetlands, coupled to evapotranspiration losses during the daytime in excess of groundwater resupply. These depth variations alter the intensity of UV irradiance reaching attached periphytic algal and bacterial microbial communities. Effects of alterations of UV irradiance by micro-changes in water level on periphytic microbiota were examined experimentally. Attached microbial communities, grown on glass fiber filters in situ in a natural wetland, were exposed experimentally to near-natural levels of UV irradiance of differing spectral quality. UV intensity was altered by varying the distance of the communities from the light source, changes in UV-attenuating natural dissolved organic matter (DOM), and small changes in water level (2 or 4 mm). Algal productivity and photosynthetic oxygen production were significantly reduced by small enhancements of UV-B radiation, by decreased water levels of only 2 mm, and by reductions in concentrations of DOM. UV-B had only small short-term effects on chlorophyll a, although small increases in water depth and DOM concentration reduced pigment damage. Experimental removal of UV-B during in situ growth indicated that algae could adapt to UV radiation during growth in natural environments. Microbial oxygen consumption and bacterial productivity and biomass were also lowered significantly by UV-B exposure, and damage decreased with small (2 mm) increases in water depth or in DOM concentration. Selective inhibitors of algal photosynthesis and production of released extracellular organic substrates caused a concomitant reduction in bacterial productivity and a significant increase in magnitude of UV-B damage to bacterial biomass. These effects suggested that metabolic interactions between the periphytic autotrophs and heterotrophs altered community responses to UV-B radiation. Microscale water level reductions, common on a diurnal basis in shallow wetlands, and associated increased UV intensity can result in rapid alterations in periphytic metabolism. Received: 27 January 1999; Accepted: 18 May 1999     

Influence of UV-B radiation on bacterial activity in coastal waters

The impact of UV-B radiation (290–315 nm) on bacterialactivity and abundance in coastal water was studied in mesocosmexperiments in May 1994 and May 1995 at Kristineberg MarineResearch Station, Sweden. Mesocosms (6 m³) containing naturalpelagic communities were exposed either to ambient irradiation(AMB), ambient irradiation with enhanced UV-B (+UV) (0.7 W m^–24 h every day around noon), or ambient irradiation screenedfor UV-B (–UV). Bacterial activity in the mesocosms wasmeasured by means of thymidine incorporation in short-term testsduring incubations at ambient irradiation, at ambient irradiationwith enhanced UV-B, and at ambient irradiation screened forUV-B. In +UV mesocosms, bacterial activity was significantlystimulated when incubated at ambient radiation. The stimulatingeffect was suggested to be due to an increase in carbon or nutrientsupply through a photodegradation of recalcitrant dissolvedorganic material (DOM). Low attenuation coefficients for UV-Band PAR (400–700 nm) in the +UV mesocosms supported thishypothesis. The bacterial activity in +UV mesocosms, however,was inhibited when incubations were made at enhanced UV-B irradiation,implying that the bacteria had become more sensitive to UV-Bradiation. The increased sensitivity to UV-B exposure in bacterialassemblages that already had been exposed and stressed by UV-Bradiation is suggested to be due to an overburdening of theenergy-consuming DNA repair mechanism. The data suggest thatincreased UV-B radiation, which might occur with ozone depletion,may both stimulate and suppress bacterial activity in coastalwaters, implying that the net outcome of enhanced UV-B radiationcould be an unchanged bacterial activity.     

Effect of Cerium on Photosynthetic Pigments and Photochemical Reaction Activity in Soybean Seedling Under Ultraviolet-B Radiation Stress

Effects of cerium (Ce) on photosynthetic pigments and photochemical reaction activity in soybean (Glycine max L.) under ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation stress were studied under laboratory conditions. UV-B radiation caused the decrease in chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, Hill reaction activity, photophosphorylation rate and Mg²⁺-ATPase activity. Ce (III) (20 mg L⁻¹) could alleviate UV-B-induced inhibition to these photosynthetic parameters because values of these photosynthetic parameters in Ce (III) + UV-B treatment were obviously higher than those with UV-B treatment alone. Dynamic changes of the above photosynthetic parameters show that Ce (III) could slow down the decrease rate of these photosynthetic parameters during a 5-day UV-B radiation and quicken the restoration during recovery period. The final restoration degree of five parameters mentioned above in leaves exposed to low level of UV-B radiation (0.15 W m²) was higher than that exposed to high level (0.45 W m²). Correlating net photosynthetic rate with other four parameters, we found that the regulating mechanisms Ce (ΠΙ) on photosynthesis under various level of UV-B radiation were not the same. The protective effects of Ce (III) on photosynthesis in plants were influenced by the intensity of UV-B radiation.     

Effects of solar UV-B radiation on canopy structure of Ulva communities from southern Spain

Within the sheltered creeks of Cádiz bay, Ulva thalli form extended mat-like canopies. The effect of solar ultraviolet radiation on photosynthetic activity, the composition of photosynthetic and xanthophyll cycle pigments, and the amount of RubisCO, chaperonin 60 (CPN 60), and the induction of DNA damage in Ulva aff. rotundata Bliding from southern Spain was assessed in the field. Samples collected from the natural community were covered by screening filters, generating different radiation conditions. During daily cycles, individual thalli showed photoinhibitory effects of the natural solar radiation. This inhibition was even more pronounced in samples only exposed to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Strongly increased heat dissipation in these samples indicated the activity of regulatory mechanisms involved in dynamic photoinhibition. Adverse effects of UV-B radiation on photosynthesis were only observed in combination with high levels of PAR, indicating the synergistic effects of the two wavelength ranges. In samples exposed either to PAR+UV-A or to UV-B+UV-A without PAR, no inhibition of photosynthetic quantum yield was found in the course of the day. At the natural site, the top layer of the mat-like canopies is generally completely bleached. Artificially designed Ulva canopies exhibited fast bleaching of the top layer under the natural solar radiation conditions, while this was not observed in canopies either shielded from UV or from PAR. The bleached first layer of the canopies acts as a selective UV-B filter, and thus prevents subcanopy thalli from exposure to harmful radiation. This was confirmed by the differences in photosynthetic activity, pigment composition, and the concentration of RubisCO in thalli with different positions within the canopy. In addition, the induction of the stress protein CPN 60 under UV exposure and the low accumulation of DNA damage indicate the presence of physiological protection mechanisms against harmful UV-B. A mechanism of UV-B-induced inhibition of photosynthesis under field conditions is proposed.     

Photosynthetic and biochemical characterization of pigments and UV-absorbing compounds in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phormidium tenue</Emphasis> due to UV-B radiation

We report the effect of UV-B radiation (0.8 ± 0.1 mW cm⁻²) and UV-B radiation supplemented with low-intensity PAR (∼80 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹) on the photosynthesis, photosynthetic pigments, phosphoglycolipids, oxidative damage, enzymatic antioxidants, and UV-absorbing compounds in Phormidium tenue, a marine cyanobacterium. UV-B radiation resulted in a decline in photosynthesis and photosynthetic pigments leading to lower biomass. P. tenue synthesized UV-absorbing compounds like mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and scytonemin in response to UV-B radiation. Quantity of MAAs and scytonemin was higher when UV-B was supplemented with low-level PAR. UV-B treatment also resulted in quantitative changes in phosphoglycolipids of the membrane. The UV-B treatment resulted in a slight increase in the level of peroxidation of cell membrane and very little increase in the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Results indicate that UV-B affected photosynthesis and that the main protective system was the synthesis of MAAs and scytonemin-like compounds rather than antioxidant enzymes such as SOD.     

Metabarcoding and metabolome analyses of copepod grazing reveal feeding preference and linkage to metabolite classes in dynamic microbial plankton communities

In order to characterize copepod feeding in relation to microbial plankton community dynamics, we combined metabarcoding and metabolome analyses during a 22‐day seawater mesocosm experiment. Nutrient amendment of mesocosms promoted the development of haptophyte (Phaeocystis pouchetii)‐ and diatom (Skeletonema marinoi)‐dominated plankton communities in mesocosms, in which Calanus sp. copepods were incubated for 24 h in flow‐through chambers to allow access to prey particles (<500 μm). Copepods and mesocosm water sampled six times spanning the experiment were analysed using metabarcoding, while intracellular metabolite profiles of mesocosm plankton communities were generated for all experimental days. Taxon‐specific metabarcoding ratios (ratio of consumed prey to available prey in the surrounding seawater) revealed diverse and dynamic copepod feeding selection, with positive selection on large diatoms, heterotrophic nanoflagellates and fungi, while smaller phytoplankton, including P. pouchetii, were passively consumed or even negatively selected according to our indicator. Our analysis of the relationship between Calanus grazing ratios and intracellular metabolite profiles indicates the importance of carbohydrates and lipids in plankton succession and copepod–prey interactions. This molecular characterization of Calanus sp. grazing therefore provides new evidence for selective feeding in mixed plankton assemblages and corroborates previous findings that copepod grazing may be coupled to the developmental and metabolic stage of the entire prey community rather than to individual prey abundances.     

Inhibition of photosynthesis by UV-B exposure and its repair in the bloom-forming cyanobacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Microcystis aeruginosa</Emphasis>

The photosynthetic performance of Microcystis aeruginosa FACHB 854 during the process of UV-B exposure and its subsequent recovery under photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was investigated in the present study. Eight hours UV-B radiation (3.15 W m⁻²) stimulated the increase of photosynthetic pigments content at the early stage of UV-B exposure followed by a significant decline. It suggested that UV-B damage was not an immediate process, and there existed a dynamic balance between damage and adaptation in the exposed cells. Short-term UV-B exposure severely inhibited the photosynthetic capability, but it could restore quickly after being transferred to PAR. Further investigations revealed that the PS II of M. aeruginosa FACHB 854 was more sensitive to UV-B exposure than PS I, and the oxygen-evolving complex of PS II was an important damage target of UV-B. The inhibition of photosynthetic performance caused by UV-B could be recovered to 90.9% of pretreated samples after 20 h exposure at low PAR, but it could not be recovered in the dark as well as under low PAR in the presence of Chloromycetin. It can be concluded that PAR and de novo protein synthesis were essential for the recovery of UV-B-damaged photosynthetic apparatus.     

Phycoerythrin synthesis is induced by solar UV-B in the cyanobacterium Nostoc

Solar UV-B (280–315 nm) induces the synthesis of phycoerythrin (PE) in a Nostoc species isolated from the Andean high altitude lake Yanaqocha. The outdoor experiments were carried out in a small lake in Erlangen, Germany, using natural conditions. After 2- and 4-h exposure to solar radiation, the immunodetection signal using monoclonal antibodies anti-PE was lower in control cells (exposed to PAR + UV-A) than in cells exposed to total solar radiation (PAR + UV-A + UV-B). Cells exposed at depths in which no UV-B penetrated showed no differences from control cells regarding PE content. When exposed to monochromatic radiation of 280, 300 or 360 nm, purified PE was photodegraded in a wavelength dependent manner resulting in different polypeptide fragments carrying chromophore groups. Immunodetection revealed active synthesis of PE in parallel to photodamage by solar UV-B indicating that PE is important for photoadaptation to shorter wavelengths in the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp.     

Growth of elaborate microbial pinnacles in Lake Vanda,Antarctica

Microbial pinnacles in ice‐covered Lake Vanda, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, extend from the base of the ice to more than 50 m water depth. The distribution of microbial communities, their photosynthetic potential, and pinnacle morphology affects the local accumulation of biomass, which in turn shapes pinnacle morphology. This feedback, plus environmental stability, promotes the growth of elaborate microbial structures. In Lake Vanda, all mats sampled from greater than 10 m water depth contained pinnacles with a gradation in size from <1‐mm‐tall tufts to pinnacles that were centimeters tall. Small pinnacles were cuspate, whereas larger ones had variable morphology. The largest pinnacles were up to ~30 cm tall and had cylindrical bases and cuspate tops. Pinnacle biomass was dominated by cyanobacteria from the morphological and genomic groups Leptolyngbya, Phormidium, and Tychonema. The photosynthetic potential of these cyanobacterial communities was high to depths of several millimeters into the mat based on PAM fluorometry, and sufficient light for photosynthesis penetrated ~5 mm into pinnacles. The distribution of photosynthetic potential and its correlation to pinnacle morphology suggests a working model for pinnacle growth. First, small tufts initiate from random irregularities in prostrate mat. Some tufts grow into pinnacles over the course of ~3 years. As pinnacles increase in size and age, their interiors become colonized by a more diverse community of cyanobacteria with high photosynthetic potential. Biomass accumulation within this subsurface community causes pinnacles to swell, expanding laminae thickness and creating distinctive cylindrical bases and cuspate tops. This change in shape suggests that pinnacle morphology emerges from a specific distribution of biomass accumulation that depends on multiple microbial communities fixing carbon in different parts of pinnacles. Similarly, complex patterns of biomass accumulation may be reflected in the morphology of elaborate ancient stromatolites.     

Morphological and physiological responses of bean plants to supplemental UV radiation in a Mediterranean climate

During the last few decades many experiments have been performed to evaluate the responses of plants to enhanced solar UV-B radiation (280–320 nm) that may occur because of stratospheric ozone depletion; most of them were performed in controlled environment conditions where plants were exposed to low photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) levels and high UV-B irradiance. Since environmental radiative regimes can play a role in the response of plants to UV-B enhancement, it appears doubtful whether it is valid to extrapolate the results from these experiments to plants grown in natural conditions. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects on physiology and morphology of a bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivar Nano Bobis, exposed to supplemental UV radiation in the open-air. UV-B radiation was supplied by fluorescent lamps to simulate a 20% stratospheric ozone reduction. Three groups of plants were grown: control (no supplemental UV), UV-A treatment (supplementation in the UV-A band) and UV-B treatment (supplemental UV-B and UV-A radiation). Each group was replicated three times. After 33 days of treatment plants grown under UV-B treatment had lower biomass, leaf area and reduced leaf elongation compared to UV-A treatment. No significant differences were detected in photosynthetic parameters, photosynthetic pigments and UV-B absorbing compounds among the three groups of plants. However, plants exposed to UV-A treatment showed a sort of 'stimulation' of their growth when compared to the control. The results of this experiment showed that plants may be sensitive to UV-A radiation, thus it is difficult to evaluate the specific effects of UV-B (280–320 nm) radiation from fluorescent lamps and it is important to choose the appropriate control. Environmental conditions strongly affect plant response to UV radiation so further field studies are necessary to assess the interaction between UV-B exposure and meteorological variability.     

Giant clams in shallow reefs: UV-resistance mechanisms of Tridacninae in the Red Sea

The photosymbiosis of tropical giant clams (subfamily Tridacninae) with unicellular algae (Symbiodiniaceae) restricts their distribution to the sunlit, shallow waters of the euphotic zone where organisms are additionally exposed to potentially damaging levels of solar UV radiation. Metabolic and physiological responses of Red Sea Tridacna maxima clams, including net calcification and primary production, as well as valvometry (i.e., shell gaping behavior) were assessed when exposed to simulated high radiation levels received at 3 and 5 m underwater. The two levels of radiation included exposure treatments to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; 400–700 nm) alone and to both, PAR and ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B; 280–315 nm). The valvometry data obtained using flexible magnetic sensors indicated that specimens under PAR + UV-B exposure significantly reduced the proportion of their exposed mantle area, a potential photo-protective mechanism which, however, reduces the overall amount of PAR received by the algal symbionts. Consequently, specimens under PAR + UV-B displayed a slight, although non-significant, reduction in primary production rates but no signs of additional oxidative stress, changes in symbiont densities, chlorophyll content, or levels of mycosporine-like amino acids. Net calcification rates of T. maxima were not affected by exposure to UV-B; however, calcification was positively correlated with incident PAR levels. UV-B exposure changes the valvometry, reducing the exposed mantle area which consequently diminishes the available PAR for the photosymbionts. Still, T. maxima maintains high rates of primary production and net calcification, even under high levels of UV-B. This provides experimental support for a recently described, effective UV-defensive mechanism in Tridacninae, in which the photonic cooperation of the associated algal symbionts and giant clam iridocytes is assumed to establish optimal conditions for the photosynthetic performance of the clams’ symbionts.

     

The effects of enhanced ultraviolet-B and nitrogen supply on growth,photosynthesis and nutrient status of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Abies faxoniana</Emphasis> seedlings

Abies faxoniana is a key species in reforestation processes in the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China. The changes in growth, photosynthesis and nutrient status of A. faxoniana seedlings exposed to enhanced ultraviolet-B (UV-B), nitrogen supply and their combination were investigated. The experimental design included two levels of UV-B treatments (ambient UV-B, 11.02 KJ m⁻² day⁻¹; enhanced UV-B, 14.33 KJ m⁻² day⁻¹) and two nitrogen levels (0; 20 g N m⁻²). The results indicated that: (1) enhanced UV-B significantly caused a marked decline in growth parameters, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), photosynthetic pigments and F _v/F _m, (2) supplemental nitrogen supply increased the accumulation of total biomass, Pn, photosynthetic pigments and F _v/F _m under ambient UV-B, whereas supplemental nitrogen supply reduced Pn, and not affect biomass under enhanced UV-B, (3) enhanced UV-B or nitrogen supply changed the concentration of nutrient elements of various organs.     

Linking species performance to community structure as affected by UV-B radiation: an attenuation experiment

Aims UV-B radiation is known to affect plant physiology and growth rate in ways that can influence community species composition and structure. Nevertheless, comparatively little is known about how UV-B radiation induced changes in the performance of individual species cascades to affect overall community properties. Because foliage leaves are primarily responsible for photosynthesis and carbon gain and are the major organ that senses and responds to UV-B radiation, we hypothesized that, under reduced UV-B radiation, species with larger leaf areas per plant would manifest higher growth rates and hence tend to improve their community status compared to species with smaller leaf areas per plant in herbaceous plant communities.Methods We tested this hypothesis by examining plant traits (leaf area per plant and plant height), plant growth rate (aboveground biomass per plant and plant biomass per area) and community status (species within-community relative biomass) for 19 common species in a two-year field experiment in an alpine meadow on Tibetan Plateau.Important findings Aboveground biomass per plant, as well as per area, progressively increased in a 39% reduced (relative to ambient) UV-B treatment during the experimental period. At the second year, 11 out of 19 species significantly or marginally significantly increased their plant height, leaf area per plant and aboveground biomass per plant. No species was negatively affected by reducing UV-B. As hypothesized, the increase in aboveground biomass per plant increased with increasing leaf area per plant, as indicated by cross-species regression analysis. Moreover, the change in species within-community status increased with increasing leaf area per plant. Our study demonstrates that UV-B radiation has differential effects on plant growth rate across species and hence significantly affects species composition and plant community structure. We suggest that UV-B radiation is an ecological factor structuring plant communities particularly in alpine and polar areas.     

Effects of solar radiation and solar radiation deprived of UV-B and total UV on photosynthetic oxygen production and pulse amplitude modulated fluorescence in the brown alga Padina pavonia

Abstract: The effects of solar radiation on photosynthetic oxygen production and pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorescence were measured in the marine brown macroalga Padina pavonia harvested from different depths from the Greek coast near Korinth. In fluence rate-response curves the light compensation point for photosynthetic oxygen production increased and the saturation level decreased with increasing exposure time to solar radiation. Cutting off the UV-B wavelength range (280–315 nm) from solar radiation reduced the inhibition of photosynthesis, and the organisms were less affected when all of the UV radiation was filtered out. Algae collected from 7 m depth were much more prone to photoinhibition than those harvested from rock pools exposed to unfiltered solar radiation. During continuous exposure to solar radiation, rock pool algae showed photoinhibition after longer periods of time than specimens from 7 m or from dark adapted habitats. When subjected to unfiltered solar radiation the ratio of the variable fluorescence to the maximal fluorescence     (F_v = F_m− F_o) rapidly declined with increasing exposure time. However, again algae from 7 m depth were more prone to photoinhibition than rock pool algae. The differences between the two ecological strains were less obvious when UV-B or total UV was removed from solar radiation. Only in the latter case a complete recovery was observed after 2 h while, when exposed to unifiltered sunlight, only the rock pool algae recovered completely within that time.     

Principal component analysis of intraspecific responses of tartary buckwheat to UV-B radiation under field conditions

Fifteen populations of tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) occurring in habitats with different natural UV-B levels were sampled, and the plants were exposed to enhanced UV-B radiation under field conditions simulating 25% depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. The experimental design was a 2 × 15 factorial, with two levels of UV-B radiation (ambient and enhanced UV-B radiation) and plants from 15 populations. The responses of plants in growth, morphology, productivity and in the composition of photosynthetic pigments were measured. The results demonstrated that there were significant differences among populations in responses to UV-B radiation: some populations exhibited a positive effect while others were negatively affected. The UV-B effects on plant traits were correlated with the constitutive values. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the overall sensitivity of responses to UV-B radiation. Our results suggest that the sensitivity of plants to UV-B radiation is not only associated with the ambient UV-B level in natural habitats but also with the relative growth rate and other factors.     

Leaf expansion and development of PHOTOSYNTHETIC CAPACITY AND PIGMENTS IN Liquidambar styraciflua (Hamamelidaceae)—EFFECTS OF UV-B RADIATION

In order to perform their functions as photosynthetic organs, leaves must cope with excess heat and potentially damaging ultraviolet radiation. Possible increases in the UV-B portion of the solar spectrum may place an additional burden on leaves, and this could be particularly important for young expanding leaves with poorly developed UV-B defense mechanisms. We evaluated the effects of supplemental UV-B radiation on leaf expansion and the development of photosynthetic capacity and pigments in sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) seedlings. Seedlings were grown in the field under either ambient or ambient plus 3 or 5.0 kJ of biologically effective supplemental UV-B radiation. Although final leaf size was unaffected, the rate of leaf elongation and accumulation of leaf area was slower in leaves exposed to the lower supplemental UV-B irradiance. In contrast, chlorophyll accumulation and the development of photosynthetic capacity was more rapid in plants exposed to the higher, compared to the lower supplemental UV-B irradiance. The accumulation of anthocyanins and other putative flavonoids or UV-absorbing compounds was scarcely affected by exposure to supplemental UV-B radiation. These results suggest that the UV-B portion of the solar spectrum may, in the absence of gross affects on biomass, exert subtle influences on leaf ontogeny and the development of photosynthetic pigments and capacity in sweetgum.     

DNA metabarcoding reveals that 200‐μm‐size‐fractionated filtering is unable to discriminate between planktonic microbial and large eukaryotes

Microeukaryotic plankton (0.2–200 μm) are critical components of aquatic ecosystems and key players in global ecological processes. High‐throughput sequencing is currently revolutionizing their study on an unprecedented scale. However, it is currently unclear whether we can accurately, effectively and quantitatively depict the microeukaryotic plankton communities using traditional size‐fractionated filtering combined with molecular methods. To address this, we analysed the eukaryotic plankton communities both with, and without, prefiltering with a 200 μm pore‐size sieve –by using SSU rDNA‐based high‐throughput sequencing on 16 samples with three replicates in each sample from two subtropical reservoirs sampled from January to October in 2013. We found that ~25% reads were classified as metazoan in both size groups. The species richness, alpha and beta diversity of plankton community and relative abundance of reads in 99.2% eukaryotic OTUs showed no significant changes after prefiltering with a 200 μm pore‐size sieve. We further found that both >0.2 μm and 0.2–200 μm eukaryotic plankton communities, especially the abundant plankton subcommunities, exhibited very similar, and synchronous, spatiotemporal patterns and processes associated with almost identical environmental drivers. The lack of an effect on community structure from prefiltering suggests that environmental DNA from larger metazoa is introduced into the smaller size class. Therefore, size‐fractionated filtering with 200 μm is insufficient to discriminate between the eukaryotic plankton size groups in metabarcoding approaches. Our results also highlight the importance of sequencing depth, and strict quality filtering of reads, when designing studies to characterize microeukaryotic plankton communities.     

Experimental study of the impacts of silver carp on plankton communities of eutrophic Villerest reservoir (France)

We examined the impact of five silver carp biomass levels (0, 8, 16, 20, and 32 g m⁻³) on plankton communities and water quality of Villerest eutrophic reservoir (France). We realized the experiments using outdoor mesocosms. The presence of silver carp led to changes in zooplankton and phytoplankton assemblages. High fish biomass strongly reduced cladoceran abundance (through predation). Silver carp inefficiently grazed down particles < 20 μm. More importantly, however, the suppression of herbivorous cladocerans resulted in the increase of small size algae which were relieved from grazing and benefit from high nutrient concentrations. In contrast, in mesocosms without fish, the dominance of cladocerans (mainly Daphnia) controlled small size algae and probably also larger size algae (colonial chlorophytes, cyanobacteria). Thus, the Secchi disc transparency increased markedly. Through cascade effects, the modification of grazers communities led to changes in the utilization patterns of the added nutrients by phytoplankton communities. In high fish biomass treatments, nutrients were more efficiently accumulated into particulate fractions compared with no-fish and low-fish biomass treatments that were characterized by higher dissolved nutrients concentrations. Zooplankton was an essential source of food for silver carp. The productivity of zooplankton sustained a moderate silver carp biomass (up to 16 g m⁻³). In the presence of the highest fish biomass, the productivity of zooplankton was not large enough and silver carps fed on additional phytoplankton. Although mesocosms with high fish biomass were characterized by a slight cyanobacteria development compared with other fish mesocosms, silver carp was not effective in reducing cyanobacteria dominance. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.