Sediment-seawater exchange altered adverse effects of ocean acidification towards marine microalgae

Ocean acidification (OA) exhibits high threat to marine microalgae. However, the role of marine sediment in the OA-induced adverse effect towards microalgae is largely unknown. In this work, the effects of OA (pH 7.50) on the growth of individual and co-cultured microalgae (Emiliania huxleyi, Isochrysis galbana, Chlorella vulgaris, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Platymonas helgolandica tsingtaoensis) were systematically investigated in the sediment-seawater systems. OA inhibited E. huxleyi growth by 25.21 %, promoted P. helgolandica (tsingtaoensis) growth by 15.49 %, while did not cause any effect on the other three microalgal species in the absence of sediment. In the presence of the sediment, OA-induced growth inhibition of E. huxleyi was significantly mitigated, because the released chemicals (N, P and Fe) from seawater-sediment interface increased the photosynthesis and reduced oxidative stress. For P. tricornutum, C. vulgaris and P. helgolandica (tsingtaoensis), the growth was significantly increased in the presence of sediment in comparison with those under OA alone or normal seawater (pH 8.10). For I. galbana, the growth was inhibited when the sediment was introduced. Additionally, in the co-culturing system, C. vulgaris and P. tricornutum were the dominant species, while OA increased the proportions of dominant species and decreased the community stability as indicated by Shannon and Pielou's indexes. After the introduction of sediment, the community stability was recovered, but remained lower than that under normal condition. This work demonstrated the role of sediment in the biological responses to OA, and could be helpful for better understanding the impact of OA on marine ecosystems. [Display omitted] •Five marine microalgal species showed different sensitivities to OA.•OA promoted algal growth except I. galbana after introducing sediments.•N, P and Fe released from sediments mitigated OA-induced toxicity to E. huxleyi.•OA-induced algal community instability was alleviated by the presence of sediments.