Silicon limitation affects diatom’s resistance to copepod grazing

Huo XU; Fengyuan CHEN; Minqi LUO; Xiaodong ZHANG; Ke PAN; Hongbin LIU

doi:10.1007/s00343-024-4142-5

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Silicon limitation affects diatom’s resistance to copepod grazing

Ecology | Updated：2025-08-07

- Silicon limitation affects diatom’s resistance to copepod grazing
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 43, Issue 4, Pages: 1201-1212(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.SZU‐HKUST Joint PhD Program in Marine Environmental Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518000, China
  2.Department of Ocean Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
  3.Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518000, China
  4.Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science & Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
- Author bio：
  
  panke@szu.edu.cn
  liuhb@ust.hk
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-024-4142-5
  CLC：
- Received：05 June 2024，
  
  Published：01 July 2025
- Accepted：
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XU Huo,CHEN Fengyuan,LUO Minqi,et al.Silicon limitation affects diatom’s resistance to copepod grazing[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(04):1201-1212.
DOI：

XU Huo,CHEN Fengyuan,LUO Minqi,et al.Silicon limitation affects diatom’s resistance to copepod grazing[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(04):1201-1212. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-024-4142-5.

摘要

Abstract

Silicon limitation negatively affects the growth and metabolism of diatoms. However

its influence on the topography and mechanical properties of diatom frustules

and consequently on predation

remains unclear. We investigated how silicon limitation affects the mechanical strength of diatom frustules. Under silicon limitation

the growth rates of diatom

Cylindrotheca

closterium

Amphora

coffeaeformis

Thalassiosira

weissflogii

and

Cyclotella

sp. decreased by 19%

56%

42%

and 73%

respectively. Similarly

the biogenic silica content of silicon-limited

closterium

weissflogii

and

Cyclotella

sp. decreased by 17%

11%

and 9%

respectively

whereas

coffeaeformis

showed a 63% increase. Atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy rev

ealed that silicon shortage reduced frustule hardness by approximately 60% and decreased condensed silica components on their surface by about 80%

except in

coffeaeformis

. Additionally

copepods consumed 20% to 600% more diatoms grown under silicon deficiency compared to those grown under Si-rich conditions

with the exception of

coffeaeformis

. These findings suggest that silicon limitation diminishes diatom populations and accelerates carbon export from diatoms to the deep sea.

关键词

Keywords

references

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