Brownification Affects Phytoplankton Community Composition But Not Primary Productivity in Eutrophic Coastal Waters: A Mesocosm Experiment in the Baltic Sea

Highlights • Modest brownification did not affect primary production, but increased bacterial production. • Concentration of inorganic nitrogen was the primary driver for the phytoplankton development. • Brownification benefitted picophytoplankton. Climate change is projected to cause brownification of some coastal seas due to increased runoff of terrestrially derived organic matter. We carried out a mesocosm experiment (15 d) to test the effect of this on the planktonic ecosystem expecting reduced primary production and shifts in the phytoplankton community composition. The experiment was set up in 2.2 m3 mesocosm bags using four treatments, each with three replicates: control (Contr) without any manipulation, organic carbon additive HuminFeed (Hum; 2 mg L−1), inorganic nutrients (Nutr; 5.7 μM NH4 and 0.65 μM PO4), and combined Nutr and Hum (Nutr + Hum) additions. Measured variables included organic and inorganic nutrient pools, chlorophyll a (Chla), primary and bacterial production and particle counts by flow cytometry. The bags with added inorganic nutrients developed a phytoplankton bloom that depleted inorganic N at day 6, followed by a rapid decline in Chla. Brownification did not reduce primary production at the tested concentration. Bacterial production was lowest in the Contr, but similar in the three treatments receiving additions likely due to increased carbon available for heterotrophic bacteria. Picoeukaryotes clearly benefited by brownification after inorganic N depletion, which could be due to more effective nutrient recycling, nutrient affinity, light absorption, or alternatively lower grazing pressure. In conclusion, brownification shifted the phytoplankton community composition towards smaller species with potential effects on carbon fluxes, such as sinking rates and export to the sea floor.