Significance of Plankton Community Structure and Nutrient Availability for the Control of Dinoflagellate Blooms by Parasites: A Modeling Approach

Type Article
Date 2015-06
Language English
Author(s) Alves-De-Souza Catharina1, Pecqueur David2, Le Floc'h Emilie2, 3, 4, Mas Sebastien3, Roques Cecile2, Mostajir Behzad2, Vidussi Franscesca2, Velo-Suarez Lourdes5, Sourisseau MarcORCID5, Fouilland Eric4, Guillou Laure6, 7
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Dept Bot, Lab Ficol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
2 : Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER,IRD,UM,CC 093, UMR MARBEC Ctr Marine Biodivers Exploitat & Conse, F-34059 Montpellier, France.
3 : CNRS, SMEL, IRD, UM,UMS OSU OREME MEDIMEER 3282, Sete, France.
4 : CNRS, UMR MARBEC Ctr Marine Biodivers Exploitat & Conse, IFREMER, UM,IRD,SMEL, Sete, France.
5 : IFREMER, DYNECO PELAGOS, Plouzane, France.
6 : CNRS, UMR 7144, Roscoff, France.
7 : Univ Paris 06, Stn Biol Roscoff, Roscoff, France.
Source Plos One (1932-6203) (Public Library Science), 2015-06 , Vol. 10 , N. 6 , P. e0127623
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0127623
WOS© Times Cited 14
Abstract Dinoflagellate blooms are frequently observed under temporary eutrophication of coastal waters after heavy rains. Growth of these opportunistic microalgae is believed to be promoted by sudden input of nutrients and the absence or inefficiency of their natural enemies, such as grazers and parasites. Here, numerical simulations indicate that increasing nutrient availability not only promotes the formation of dinoflagellate blooms but can also stimulate their control by protozoan parasites. Moreover, high abundance of phytoplankton other than dinoflagellate hosts might have a significant dilution effect on the control of dinoflagellate blooms by parasites, either by resource competition with dinoflagellates (thus limiting the number of hosts available for infection) or by affecting numerical-functional responses of grazers that consume free-living parasite stages. These outcomes indicate that although both dinoflagellates and their protozoan parasites are directly affected by nutrient availability, the efficacy of the parasitic control of dinoflagellate blooms under temporary eutrophication depends strongly on the structure of the plankton community as a whole.
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Alves-De-Souza Catharina, Pecqueur David, Le Floc'h Emilie, Mas Sebastien, Roques Cecile, Mostajir Behzad, Vidussi Franscesca, Velo-Suarez Lourdes, Sourisseau Marc, Fouilland Eric, Guillou Laure (2015). Significance of Plankton Community Structure and Nutrient Availability for the Control of Dinoflagellate Blooms by Parasites: A Modeling Approach. Plos One, 10(6), e0127623. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127623 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00274/38478/