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Phytoplankton, or algae, are the engines of the Earth. They form the base of the aquatic food web and, although microscopic, they produce 50% of the oxygen in the air. Many of our ideas of what makes these cells "tick" come from ideas developed decades ago. But, lakes and oceans are changing- and so, too are phytoplankton. Our understanding has to change accordingly. Nutrient pollution is a major problem worldwide, and climate is changing, altering temperature, CO2 and pH, as well as the physics that control water stratification. All of these factors control which species of phytoplankton may grow well at any particular time. While algae grow in all types of aquatic systems, not all algae are favourable for the production of fish and other food resources. The prevalence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) has increased. At the core of this effort is a drive to understand – and to convey to researchers, students and managers – what kinds of phytoplankton are likely to thrive as conditions change and why this matters. There has not yet been a synthetic summary that unravels the mysteries of phytoplankton in a modern world. This book aims to provide such a resource.
Chapter 1. Historical Phytoplankton Ecologists, Early Concepts and Debates
Chapter 2. Methods Shape Our Understanding
Chapter 3. Manipulating and Measuring Growth and Biomass in Simple to Complex Systems and a Curve for All Reasons
Chapter 4. Shining Light on the Complexity of Light
Chapter 5. Capturing Light and the Diversity of Pigments
Chapter 6. Photosynthesis: The Complex Path From Light to Carbon Fixation
Chapter 7. Photosynthesis and the Confusing Array of Methodologies
Chapter 8. Changing in the Short-term: Acclimation
Chapter 9. The Algae and their (Imperfect!) Classifications
Chapter 10. Endosymbiosis and Evolution
Chapter 11. Nutrient Supplies, Cycles and the Oceanic Dynamic Balance
Chapter 12. Nitrogen Uptake, Assimilation and Metabolism: Making Amino Acids and Protein
Chapter 13. Phosphorus Uptake, Assimilation and Metabolism: Making Energy and Genetic Material
Chapter 14. Silica Uptake, Assimilation and Metabolism: Making Cell Walls
Chapter 15. Mixotrophy: Microbial Multitasking
Chapter 16. Iron and the Anemic High-Nutrient-Low-Chlorophyll Oceanic Regions
Chapter 17. Diversity and Succession: Metrics, Models, Mandalas, and Intaglios
Chapter 18. Taming Diversity through the Traits of Size and Stoichiometry
Chapter 19. Loss Processes: The Tiny Feeding the Large
Chapter 20. Food Webs, Cascades, Trophic Positions and Stoichiometry
Chapter 21. The Phycosphere- Living and Dying in Close Quarters
Chapter 22. The Changing World
Chapter 23. Temperature and Warming of Our Waters
Chapter 24. Hypoxia and the Wheezing of Our Waters
Chapter 25. Harmful Algae and the Blooming of Our Waters
Chapter 26. Ocean Acidification and the Souring of Our Waters
Chapter 27. Happening Now: Systems Experiencing Extreme Change and Multiple Stressors
Chapter 28. Modeling our Past, Present, and Future
Chapter 29. Reversing Course: Ecosystem Restoration, Geoengineering, and Algal Bloom Mitigation
Chapter 30. Postscript: Changing of the Guard
Patricia M. Glibert is an oceanographer broadly interested in effects of nutrient pollution and algal blooms and their global expansion. Her work ranges from addressing global problems, such as how land-based nutrient loads are changing due to changing agricultural practices, to understanding how different species of algae respond to different nutrient forms and how climate change is altering their response.
