Modeling Photoprotection at Global Scale: The Relative Role of Nonphotosynthetic Pigments, Physiological State, and Species Composition
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Microalgae are capable of acclimating to dynamic light environments, as they have developed mechanisms to optimize light harvesting and photosynthetic electron transport. When absorption of light exceeds photosynthetic capacity, various physiological protective mechanisms prevent damage of the photosynthetic apparatus. Xanthophyll pigments provide one of the most important photoprotective mechanisms to dissipate the excess light energy and prevent photoinhibition. In this study, we coupled a mechanistic model for phytoplankton photoinhibition with the global biogeochemical model Regulated Ecosystem Model version 2. The assumption that photoinhibition is small in phytoplankton communities acclimated to ambient light allowed us to predict the photoprotective needs of phytoplankton. When comparing the predicted photoprotective needs to observations of pigment content determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography, our results showed that photoprotective response seems to be mediated in most parts of the ocean by a variable ratio of xanthophyll pigments to chlorophyll. The variability in the ratio appeared to be mainly driven by changes in phytoplankton community composition. Exceptions appeared at high latitudes where other energy dissipating mechanisms seem to play a role in photoprotection and both taxonomic changes and physiological acclimation determine community pigment signature. Understanding the variability of community pigment signature is crucial for modeling the coupling of light absorption to carbon fixation in the ocean. Insights about how much of this variability is attributable to changes in community composition may allow us to improve the match between remotely sensed optical data and the underlying phytoplankton community.
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AWI Organizations > Climate Sciences > Physical Oceanography of the Polar Seas
Helmholtz Research Programs > PACES II (2014-2020) > TOPIC 3: The earth system from a polar perspective > WP 3.3: From process understanding to enabling climate prediction
Helmholtz Research Programs > PACES II (2014-2020) > TOPIC 4: Research in science-stakeholder interactions > WP 4.1: Operational analyses and forecasting
Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Northeast Atlantic Ocean (40w) > North Sea
Indian Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Atlantic Ocean > South Atlantic Ocean > Southeast Atlantic Ocean (20w)
ANT > XIV > 1
ANT > XIV > 4
ANT > XV > 1
ANT > XVI > 4
ANT > XVII > 2
ANT > XVIII > 3
ARK > XXIX > 2.2
HE > 460-479 > 462
PS > 103
PS > 107