Predictable shifts from nutrient to energy limitation determine the responses of planktonic autotrophs, bacteria and mixoplankton to browning

Abstract Within aquatic ecosystems, heterotrophic, mixotrophic and autotrophic plankton are entangled in a complex network of competitive, predatory and mutualistic interactions. “Browning,” the increase of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from terrestrial catchments, can affect this network of interactions by simultaneously decreasing light availability and increasing organic carbon and nutrients supplies. Here, we introduce a conceptual, process-based numerical model to investigate the effects of browning on a microbial food web consisting of heterotrophic bacterioplankton, bacterivorous phago-mixoplankton, autotrophic phytoplankton and the resources light, inorganic phosphorus and DOM. Additionally, we explore how the investment in autotrophic vs. phagotrophic resource acquisition influences mixoplankton performance. Several model predictions are in broad agreement with empirical observations under increasing CDOM supply, including increased bacterial biomass and inorganic phosphorous, decreased light penetration, the potential for a unimodal phytoplankton biomass response and a local minimum in mixoplankton biomass. Our results also suggest that mixoplankton with a high investment in phototrophy perform best in many conditions but that phosphorous acquisition via prey is crucial under high light-low nutrient conditions. Overall, our model analyses suggest that responses to altered CDOM supply are largely determined by systematic changes in the relative importance of nutrient vs. energy limitation of each plankton group.