Among the tiniest living things in the ocean are a group of single celled microbes called Prochlorococcus.
Among the tiniest living things in the ocean are a group of single celled microbes called Prochlorococcus. They are cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, and they supply nutrients for animals all the way up the food chain. Over 75% of surface waters teem with Prochlorococcus, but as ocean temperatures rise, researchers fear that the water might be getting too warm to support the population.
Prochlorococcus is the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, accounting for 5% of global photosynthesis. Because Prochlorococcus thrive in the tropics, researchers predicted that they would adapt well to global warming. Instead, a new study finds that Prochlorococcus prefers water between 66 and 86 degrees and doesn’t tolerate it much warmer. Climate models predict that subtropical and tropical ocean temperatures will exceed that threshold in the next 75 years.
“For a long time, scientists thought Prochlorococcus was going to do great in the future, but in the warmest regions, they aren’t doing that well, which means that there is going to be less carbon — less food — for the rest of the marine food web,” said François Ribalet, a University of Washington research associate professor of oceanography, who led the study.
Their results were published in Nature Microbiology on Sept. 8.
Read More: University of Washington
Image: Sunset aboard the Thomas G. Thompson, a University of Washington-operated research vessel equipped for ocean voyages. The instrument visible on the left is a water sampler that can collect from different depths, the SeaFlow flow cytometer was also aboard, but not pictured here.(Credit: Kathy Newer/University of Washington)
