Physiological responses of the mediterranean subtidal alga peyssonnelia squamaria to elevated CO 2

Abstract

The ecological consequences of ocean acidification are unclear due to varying physiological properties of macroalgae and species-specific responses. Therefore, in the present study, we used a laboratory culture experiment to analyse the eco-physiological responses of the Mediterranean subtidal red alga Peyssonnelia squamaria to CO2-induced lower pH. Our results showed an increase in the photosynthetic performance and growth rate of P. squamaria, despite the reduction in CaCO3 content in the low pH treatment. According to our results, we believe that samples exposed to elevated CO2 could be regulated own nitrogen metabolism to support increased growth rate and it may be down-regulated nitrate uptake. As a result, we hypothesize that P. squamaria may benefit from ocean acidification.