Phytoplankton community responses to temperature fluctuations under different nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry.

Nutrient availability and temperature are important drivers of phytoplankton growth and stoichiometry. However, the interactive effects of nutrients and temperature on phytoplankton have been analyzed mostly by addressing changes in average temperature, whereas recent evidence suggests an important role of temperature fluctuations. In a laboratory experiment, we grew a natural phytoplankton community under fluctuating and constant temperature regimes across 25 combinations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) supply. Temperature fluctuations decreased phytoplankton growth rate (r(max)), as predicted by nonlinear averaging along the temperature-growth relationship. r(max) increased with increasing P supply, and a significant temperature x P x N interaction reflected that the shape of the thermal reaction norm depended on nutrients. By contrast, phytoplankton carrying capacity increased with N supply and in fluctuating rather than constant temperature. Higher phytoplankton N:P ratios under constant temperature showed that temperature regimes affected cellular nutrient incorporation. Minor differences in species diversity and composition existed. Our results suggest that temperature variability interacts with nutrient supply to affect phytoplankton physiology and stoichiometry at the community level.