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Competition between phytoplankton and mixotrophs leads to metabolic character displacement

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  • Chu, Tianyi
  • Moeller, Holly V.
  • Archibald, Kevin M.

Abstract

While plankton are often characterized by metabolism as either phototrophic primary producers or heterotrophic consumers, many actually combine photosynthesis and phagotrophy within a single cell. These “mixotrophic” plankton, which play an important biogeochemical role in marine food webs, exhibit diverse metabolic strategies with varied contributions from photosynthesis and phagotrophy. Mixotrophs co-exist with specialist phototrophs and heterotrophs, competing for shared resources; yet we do not know how this competition alters a mixotroph’s metabolic strategy or impacts biogeochemistry. We constructed a mathematical model to simulate the dynamics of a planktonic community which consists of mixotrophs and their specialist phototrophic competitor, phytoplankton. Our simulation demonstrates how the presence of competing phytoplankton causes metabolic character displacement, shifting mixotrophs to a more heterotrophic niche. We find that the displacement is affected by various environmental and physiological factors. For example, this displacement effect is temperature dependent, suggesting a link between community-level competitive mechanisms and global climate change. The proposed model therefore may be used to develop a more comprehensive analysis of the competition between constitutive mixotrophs and specialist phototrophs or heterotrophs. Our model also provides a mathematical framework for predicting constitutive mixotroph survival in the context of global warming.

Suggested Citation

  • Chu, Tianyi & Moeller, Holly V. & Archibald, Kevin M., 2023. "Competition between phytoplankton and mixotrophs leads to metabolic character displacement," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 481(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:481:y:2023:i:c:s0304380023000595
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110331
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mikhail V. Zubkov & Glen A. Tarran, 2008. "High bacterivory by the smallest phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean," Nature, Nature, vol. 455(7210), pages 224-226, September.
    2. Livanou, Eleni & Barsakis, Konstantinos & Psarra, Stella & Lika, Konstadia, 2020. "Modelling the nutritional strategies in mixotrophic nanoflagellates," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 428(C).
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