Species-Specific Responses of Bloom-Forming Algae to the Ocean Warming and Acidification

Macroalgal biomass blooms, including those causing the green and golden tides, have been rising along Chinese coasts, resulting in considerable social impacts and economic losses. To understand the links between the ongoing climate changes (ocean warming and acidification) and algal tide formation, the effects of temperature (20 and 24 °C), pCO concentration (Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide, 410 ppm and 1000 ppm) and their interaction on the growth of and (green tide forming species), as well as (golden tide forming species) were investigated. The results indicate that the concurrent rises in temperature and pCO level significantly boosted the growth and nutrient uptake rates of . For , the heightened growth and photosynthetic efficiency under higher CO conditions are likely due to the increased availability of inorganic carbon. In contrast, exhibited negligible responsiveness to the individual and combined effects of the increased temperature and CO concentration. These outcomes indicate that the progressive climate changes, characterized by ocean warming and acidification, are likely to escalate the incidence of green tides caused by species, whereas they are not anticipated to precipitate golden tides.