Reversible colony formation and the associated costs in Scenedesmus obliquus

Grazer-induced colony formation as a defense strategy in microalgae such as Scenedesmus species has been widely reported, but the associated costs and reversibility of the colonies are rarely studied. We experimentally showed that Scenedesmus obliquus formed chained colonies in the presence of a predator, including predators separated from the algae by a membrane, but quickly reverted to single cells after the removal of the predator—a defining characteristic of an inducible defense. We detected stress indicators—astaxanthin esters—in the algal populations in the presence of grazers but not when grazers were absent. We found significant costs associated with S. obliquus colony formation in terms of lower population growth rate, lower photosystem II efficiency and lower cellular chlorophyll a content. These results together show that colony formation as an inducible defense in S. obliquus against grazers comes at a substantial cost such that the defense must be switched off and the colonies revert to single cells when the predation risk disappears.

• Publication year

  2019

• Venue

  Journal of Plankton Research

• Publication date

  2019-07-26

• Fields of study

  Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1093/PLANKT/FBZ032
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Costs and trade-offs of grazer-induced defenses in Scenedesmus under deficient resource

  2016cited by this paper
• Effect of light level and salinity on the composition and accumulation of free and ester-type carotenoids in the aerial microalga Scenedesmus sp. (Chlorophyceae)

  2015cited by this paper
• Chlorophyll fluorescence analysis: a guide to good practice and understanding some new applications.

  2013cited by this paper
• Induced defences in marine and freshwater phytoplankton: a review

  2011cited by this paper
• Secondary ketocarotenoid astaxanthin biosynthesis in algae: a multifunctional response to stress

  2010cited by this paper
• Benefits and costs of the grazer-induced colony formation in Microcystis aeruginosa

  2009cited by this paper
• The accumulation and metabolism of astaxanthin in Scenedesmus obliquus (Chlorophyceae)

  2008cited by this paper
• Diversity and geographic distribution of desmids and other coccoid green algae

  2008cited by this paper
• Morphology and nutrition of the colonial green algaScenedesmus: 80 years later

  2008cited by this paper
• Inducible defences prevent strong population fluctuations in bi‐ and tritrophic food chains

  2004cited by this paper
• Grazing and colony size development in Phaeocystis globosa (Prymnesiophyceae): the role of a chemical signal

  2003cited by this paper
• Effects of microcystin‐free and microcystin‐containing strains of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa on growth of the grazer Daphnia magna

  2003cited by this paper
• Effects of protozoan grazing on colony formation in Phaeocystis globosa (Prymnesiophyceae) and the potential costs and benefits

  2002cited by this paper
• Evaluation of instant light-response curves of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters obtained with a portable chlorophyll fluorometer on site in the field

  2000cited by this paper
• Separation of chlorophylls and carotenoids from marine phytoplankton: a new HPLC method using a reversed phase C8 column and pyridine-containing mobile phases

  2000cited by this paper
• Grazer-induced colony formation in Scenedesmus: are there costs to being colonial?

  2000cited by this paper
• On the occurrence of clear-water phases in relation to shallowness and trophic state: a comparative study

  1999cited by this paper
• Max Planck Institute for Limnology, P.O. Box 165, 24302 Plön, Germany

  1999cited by this paper
• Grazer-induced defenses in Scenedesmus (Chlorococcales; Chlorophyceae): coenobium and spine formation

  1999cited by this paper
• Algal defense, grazers, and their interactions in aquatic trophic cascades

  1998cited by this paper
• EFFECT OF GRAZING‐ASSOCIATED INFOCHEMICALS ON GROWTH AND MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN SCENEDESMUS ACUTUS (CHLOROPHYCEAE)

  1998cited by this paper
• Phytoplankton pigments in oceanography: guidelines to modern methods

  1997cited by this paper
• Morphological changes in Scenedesmus induced by infochemicals released in situ from zooplankton grazers

  1997cited by this paper
• Xanthophyll cycle and light stress in nature: uniform response to excess direct sunlight among higher plant species

  1996cited by this paper
• Zooplankton-induced unicell-colony transformation in Scenedesmus acutus and its effect on growth of herbivore Daphnia

  1996cited by this paper
• Light and photosynthesis in aquatic systems: By J.T.O. Kirk, 2nd edition; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; 1994; 509 pp.; GBP 50.00, US$ 84.95 (hard back); GBP 22.95, US$ 34.95 (paperback); ISBN 0-521-45353-4 (hardback), 0-521-45966-4 (paperback)

  1995cited by this paper
• Chemical induction of colony formation in a green alga (Scenedesmus acutus) by grazers (Daphnia)

  1994cited by this paper
• Light and photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems: Index to organisms

  1994cited by this paper
• Trade-offs and constraints in plant-herbivore defense theory: a life-history perspective

  1994cited by this paper
• Morphological changes in Scenedesmus induced by substances released from Daphnia

  1993cited by this paper
• SCENEDESMUS PLASTICITY: FACTS AND HYPOTHESES

  1991cited by this paper
• The Ecology and Evolution of Inducible Defenses

  1990cited by this paper
• The ecological role of chemical stimuli for the zooplankton: predator-induced morphology in Daphnia

  1989cited by this paper
• THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF SCENEDESMUS (CHLOROPHYCEAE). II. CELL DIVISION AND COLONY FORMATION 1

  1975cited by this paper

• Morphotype-resolved characterization of microalgal communities in a nutrient recovery process with ARTiMiS flow imaging microscopy.

  2025cites this paper
• Physiological and morphological modulations alleviate the ecotoxicity effects of microplastics on microalgae

  2025cites this paper
• Time‐delayed effects on population dynamics can generate hidden costs of plasticity and enable coexistence

  2025cites this paper
• Friends or foes? Allelopathic effects within a 3-microalgal consortium.

  2025cites this paper
• Self-aggregation for sustainable harvesting of microalgae

  2024cites this paper
• Allelopathic effects of Egeria densa on the growth and morphology of Chlorella vulgaris

  2023cites this paper
• Copepods' true colors: astaxanthin pigmentation as an indicator of fitness

  2023cites this paper
• Photosynthetic activity in both algae and cyanobacteria changes in response to cues of predation

  2022cites this paper
• Predator Field and Colony Morphology Determine the Defensive Benefit of Colony Formation in Marine Phytoplankton

  2022cites this paper
• Inducible defensive traits of Daphnia pulex against predators are mainly determined by the offspring's environment rather than their mother's experience

  2022cites this paper
• Humic Substances as Microalgal Biostimulants—Implications for Microalgal Biotechnology

  2022cites this paper
• Trait drift in microalgae and applications for strain improvement.

  2022cites this paper
• Induction and reversibility of Ceriodaphnia cornuta horns under varied intensity of predation risk and their defensive effectiveness against Chaoborus larvae

  2021cites this paper
• Warming mitigates the enhancement effect of elevated air CO2 on anti-grazer morphological defense in Scenedesmus obliquus.

  2021cites this paper
• Surfactants at environmentally relevant concentrations interfere the inducible defense of Scenedesmus obliquus and the implications for ecological risk assessment.

  2020cites this paper
• Turning defence into offence? Intrusion of cladoceran brood chambers by a green alga leads to reproductive failure

  2020cites this paper
• Grazing resistance in phytoplankton

  2020cites this paper
• UVB radiation suppresses anti-grazer morphological defense in Scenedesmus obliquus by inhibiting algal growth and carbohydrate-regulated gene expression.

  2020cites this paper