New research shows that phytoplankton iron storage strategies may determine which species thrive in changing oceans and impact marine food webs, according to a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research examined two primary methods of iron storage and found that one makes species more resilient against shortages of the rare and essential element.
“The ability of phytoplankton to store iron drives important chemical cycles and shapes the ecology of the entire ocean,” said author Ben Twining, a senior research scientist and the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Vice President for Education at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. “If we want to understand how the oceans will respond to climate change, we need to understand the iron cycle.”
The study focused on diatoms, single-celled algae that live inside glass shells and are one of the most bountiful groups of phytoplankton. A secret of their success, Twining believes, is how well they store iron, a critical nutrient that is scarce in 40 percent of the global ocean. Diatoms stockpile iron by two main methods: storing the molecules in a bag-like organ called a vacuole or chemically locking them away in the protein ferritin.
Read more at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Image: Study authors Ben Twining and Natalie Cohen collect water samples in order to study the phytoplankton communities within. The researchers found that iron storage strategies may determine which phytoplankton species thrive in changing oceans and impact marine food webs. (Credit: Ben Twining, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences)