Warming could shift the phenological responses of benthic microalgae in temperate intertidal zones

Abstract

Intertidal mudflats colonized by sediment-dwelling microphytobenthos deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. Here we simulate the response of microphytobenthos, located on a temperate tidal mudflat along the French Atlantic coast in Northwestern Europe, exposed to changes in light, temperature, and sea level conditions predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Without sea level rise, microphytobenthos benefit from the balancing effect of net primary production fluctuations, experiencing an increase in winter and a decrease in summer. Under the worst emissions scenario, microphytobenthos bloom up to 14 days earlier in spring and 5 days later in fall, thereby extending the low-level microphytobenthos biomass period by an additional 3 weeks in summer. Sea level rise reduces light exposure leading to a pronounced decline in microphytobenthos under the medium-low emissions and worst emissions scenarios. We provide evidence that the anticipated warmer climate and sea level rise will have an impact on microphytobenthos, potentially triggering cascading effects across the entire food web and disrupting ecosystem services. Under the worst-case emission scenario, benthic microalgae from temperate mudflats are projected to bloom earlier in spring and later in the fall, and lack of light due to sea level rise may lead to overall decline, according to a coupled physical-biological model and climate scenarios.