We examine the effects of seawater pCO2 concentration of 25, 41, and 76 kPa (250, 400, and 750 matm) on the growth rate of a natural assemblage of mixed phytoplankton obtained from a carefully controlled, 14-d mesocosm experiment. Throughout the experiment period, in all enclosures, two phytoplankton taxa (microflagellates and cryptomonads) and two diatom species (Skeletonema costatum and Nitzschia spp.) account for approximately 90% of the phytoplankton community. During the nutrient-replete period from day 9 to day 14 populations of Skeletonema costatum and Nitzschia spp. increased substantially; however, only Skeletonema costatum showed an increase in growth rate with increasing seawater pCO2. Not all diatom species in Korean coastal waters are sensitive to seawater pCO2 under nutrient-replete conditions.

In order to allow full comparability with other ocean acidification data sets, the R package seacarb (Lavigne and Gattuso, 2011) was used to compute a complete and consistent set of carbonate system variables, as described by Nisumaa et al. (2010). In this dataset the original values were archived in addition with the recalculated parameters (see related PI).

Supplement to: Kim, Ja-Myung; Lee, Kitack; Shin, Kyoungsoon; Kang, Jung-Hoon; Lee, Hyun-Woo; Kim, Miok; Jang, Pung-Guk; Jang, Min-Chul (2006): The effect of seawater CO2 concentration on growth of a natural phytoplankton assemblage in a controlled mesocosm experiment. Limnology and Oceanography, 51(4), 1629-1636