These conditions “could lead to complex interactions among populations of microbes, from symbiosis to intense competition,” senior author and University of Hawaii oceanographer David Karl said in a statement Monday.
Phytoplankton aren’t just an essential food source for ocean life; they’re also big consumers of carbon dioxide, which makes them even more important given today’s current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, the authors say.
Climate change may be behind the dearth of B vitamins, thanks to effects on ocean circulation and on the water column that would reduce the migration of vitamins to the ocean surface from the lower depths.
“This climate shift might disrupt ecosystem function via important vitamin-dependent biological processes,” the authors wrote.
SOURCE: Sanudo-Wilhelmy et al. “Multiple B-vitamin depletion in large areas of the coastal ocean.” PNAS online ahead of print 23 July 2012.
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