Phytoplankton are sensitive to temperature and other environmental conditions expected to change with warming over the next century. We quantified the capacity of an ecologically dominant Arctic phytoplankton species, Micromonas polaris, to adapt to changes in temperature, increased temperature and irradiance, and increased temperature and periodic nitrogen starvation, over several hundred generations. When originally isolated, this strain of Micromonas had its maximum growth rate at 6°C, and its growth rate declined above 10°C. We find an evolutionary increase in growth rate, with the largest increases associated with the elevated temperature treatments, especially when combined with repeated nitrate starvation. After several hundred generations of exposure, the growth rate of Micromonas under 13°C almost doubled and was higher than under 6°C. This increase in growth rate is consistent with the Arrhenius model of temperature effects on metabolism and suggests a general hypothesis for the evolutionary potential of phytoplankton to respond evolutionarily to temperature change.

中文翻译：

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北极常见的微型微核生物适应变暖海洋的能力

浮游植物对温度和其他环境条件敏感，这些条件预计将在下一世纪随着变暖而变化。我们量化了数百代中北极生态浮游植物极地微藻（Micromonas polaris）适应温度变化，温度和辐照度升高，温度升高和周期性氮饥饿的能力。当最初分离时，该微单胞菌菌株在6℃下具有最大生长速率，并且其生长速率下降到10℃以上。我们发现生长速率的进化增加，与高温处理相关的增加最大，尤其是与反复硝酸盐饥饿相结合时。经过几百代的曝光，其增长率13°C下的微单胞菌几乎翻了一番，高于6°C下的微单胞菌。生长速率的这种增加与温度对新陈代谢的影响的阿伦尼乌斯模型一致，并提出了浮游植物对温度变化作出进化反应的进化潜力的一般假设。