The Effects of Elevated CO₂ and Ammonium Levels in Seawater on the Physiology of Gracilariopsis chorda (Holmes) Ohmi

We examined the effects of ocean acidification (OA) and eutrophication on the physiology of a red alga, Gracilariopsis chorda, using specimens collected at Wando Island, Korea, in July of 2015. The samples were transported to a laboratory and placed on growth media for treatments involving low or high levels of ammonium ($4{\mu}M$ or $60{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$) and low or high pH(7.5 or 8.2). The control treatment used filtered seawater (pH 8.2 and $4{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$). All experiments were conducted at $20^{\circ}C$ and under a lighting intensity of $80{\mu}mol\;photons\;m^{-2}\;s^{-1}$, with or without an injection of $CO_2$ (pH 7.5). In addition, we calculated rates of respiration under darkness, at a pH of 7.5 and $60{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$. Fluctuations in pH as well as the evolution of photosynthetic oxygen and $NH_4{^+}$ uptake rates were monitored for 6 h. The greatest increase in pH levels, from 7.50 to 8.65, occurred in response to $60{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$, whereas the largest decrease, from 7.50 to 7.42, was associated with elevated respiration rates. At a pH of 7.5, rates of oxygen evolution were higher (236% saturation) for samples treated with $60{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$ than for the control (121% saturation). Ammonium uptake was highest at pH 7.5 and $60{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$, with a rate of $0.526{\pm}0.002{\mu}mol\;g^{-1}\;FW\;h^{-1}$, followed in order by the treatments of $pH\;8.2/60{\mu}\;NH_4{^+}$, $pH\;7.5/4{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$, and the control ($pH\;8.2/4{\mu}M\;NH_4{^+}$). We speculated that the rates of photosynthesis and $NH_4{^+}$ uptake could be enhanced at a higher ammonium concentration and lower pH because $CO_2$ concentrations were increased through greater photosynthetic activity. Therefore, these findings suggest that the physiology of G. chorda populations can be improved by the interaction of optimized $CO_2$ concentrations and an adequate supply of essential nutrients such as ammonium.