Modeling mixotrophic Karlodinium veneficum in Chesapeake Bay

Patricia M Glibert1, Ming Li2, Fan Zhang3, Yang Song4, Michelle Lin3 and So Hyun Ahn4, (1)University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, MD, United States, (2)University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Lab, Cambridge, MD, United States, (3)University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, MD, United States, (4)University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, United States
Abstract:
Karlodinium veneficum is a toxic mixotrophic dinoflagellate that has caused harmful algal blooms (HAB) in Chesapeake Bay, typically in the mid to upper reaches of the bay in mid to late summer. This species is mixotrophic, living off of a combination of photosynthesis and feeding, primarily on cryptophyte prey. Data from single- and mixed-prey feeding experiments under varying nutrient and temperature conditions were conducted to develop parameters for incorporation in a spatial explicit, mechanistic model of this species in Chesapeake Bay. Building on a conceptually simple habitat model of K. veneficum growth in the bay, the tuned mechanistic model was run to simulate (predict) growth and its prey under variable N:P and temperature conditions and was found to capture the long term spatial and temporal patterns of blooms. Output of the model scenarios convey potential changes in this HAB under warming and increasing CO2 conditions.
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