Angela Wulff

University of Gothenburg | GU · Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences

The diatom genus Entomoneis includes species with panduriform frustules characterized by a bilobate, elevated keel, sigmoid raphe canal and numerous open, porous girdle bands. During a phytoplankton survey along the Baltic coast of Sweden, we observed numerous Entomoneis cells, some belonging to the well-known Entomoneis paludosa, while others rema...

The diatom genus Fallacia includes species having a conopeum which is a perforated thin sheath of silica lying along the apical axis on the external valve face and a hyaline lateral area in the internal valve face. In surveying the benthic diatoms of Basra, a new small brackish water species, Fallacia fawensis was found associated with fine-grained...

Continuous observations of Antarctic benthic diatoms are necessary to detect changes in species composition and biodiversity that may result from environmental changes. The present work provides a systematic list of benthic diatoms from Potter Cove (62.03°S 58.35°W) collected during summer 2015. The new findings are compared with observations made...

Synedropsis abuflosensis sp. nov. is the third species of the genus recorded from a sub-tropical brackish water habitat as opposed to a polar distribution. This species is differentiated from others in the genus by having a different number of slits in the apical slit field at opposite ends of the valve (i.e., 4 at the end possessing a rimoportula...

Several species of diatoms, unicellular microalgae which constitute the main component of phytoplankton, are characterized by an impressive photosynthetic efficiency while presenting a noticeable tolerance versus exposure to detrimental UV radiation (UVR). In particular, the growth rate of the araphid diatom Ctenophora pulchella is not significantl...

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has gradually applied stricter regulations on the maximum sulphur content permitted in marine fuels and from January 1, 2020, the global fuel sulphur limit was reduced from 3.5% to 0.5%. An attractive option for shipowners is to install exhaust gas cleaning systems, also known as scrubbers, and continue...

Anthropogenic perturbations and climate change are severely threatening habitats of the global ocean, especially in the Arctic region, which is affected faster than any other ecosystem. Despite its importance and prevailing threats, knowledge on changes in its micro-and nanoplanktonic diversity is still highly limited. Here, we look back almost two...

2021): Navithidium gen. nov., a new monoraphid diatom (Bacillariophyceae) genus based on Achnanthes delicatissima Simonsen, Diatom Research, We investigated the ultrastructure of Achnanthes delicatissima Simonsen in materials collected from the Swedish Baltic coast. Valve structure differs markedly from that of Achnanthes sensu lato, particularly i...

Cultivation and Photophysiological Characteristics of Desmids in Moderately Saline Aquaculture Wastewater

Climate change represents one of the most pressing societal and scientific challenges of our time. While much of the current research on climate change focuses on future prediction, some of the strongest signals of warming can already be seen in Arctic and alpine areas, where temperatures are rising faster than the global average, and in the oceans...

Although desmids typically inhabit freshwater environments characterized by low amounts of nutrients and low salinity, several desmid species have been recorded in eutrophic waters, indicating their adaptation to elevated pollution and conductivity. This study aimed to determine whether desmids could be used for remediation of moderately saline aqu...

Described is here Mastogloia jahniae sp. nov. a species new to science from Skatan on the Baltic Sea, east coast of Sweden. Description of this new species is based on light and scanning electron microscopy. The new species is classified in the Mastogloia section Ellipticae and is characterized by having radiating short and long striae around the c...

Climate change-induced glacial melt affects benthic ecosystems along the West Antarctic Peninsula, but current understanding of the effects on benthic primary production and respiration is limited. Here we demonstrate with a series of in situ community metabolism measurements that climate-related glacial melt disturbance shifts benthic communities...

Rising atmospheric carbon concentrations affect global health, the economy, and overall quality of life. We are fast approaching climate tipping points that must be addressed, not only by reducing emissions but also through new innovation and action toward carbon capture for sequestration and utilization (CCSU). In this perspective, we delineate ne...

The genus Entomoneis includes diatoms with an elevated bilobate keel, a sigmoid raphe canal and numerous girdle bands. It is known to inhabit various environments, from freshwater to marine, both plankton and benthos. During a phytoplankton investigation in the Kungälv estuary on the west coast of Sweden, we observed numerous cells belonging to Ent...

In light of the potential negative impacts that fisheries and fish aquaculture have on marine ecosystems, alternative sources for long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC‐PUFAs) for human consumption are warranted. n ‐3 and n ‐6 PUFAs have documented beneficial effects on human health and wellbeing. Of particular interest for their nutraceutical...

The incorporation of nanostructures that improves light scattering as well as dye adsorption has been suggested for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), but the manufacturing of photonic and nanostructured materials with desired properties is not an easy task. In nature, however, the process of light-harvesting for photosynthesis has, in some cases,...

Areas in western Antarctica are experiencing rapid climate change, where ocean warming results in more sea ice melt simultaneously as oceanic CO 2 levels are increasing. In this study, we have tested how increased temperature (from −1.8 to 3 °C) and decreased salinity (from 35 to 20 and 10) synergistically affect the growth, photophysiology and bio...

Desmids (Zygnematophyceae) are a group of poorly studied green microalgae. The aim of the present study was to identify fatty acids (FAs) that could be used as biomarkers in desmids in general, and to determine FAs as traits within different ecophysiological desmid groups. FA profiles of 29 desmid strains were determined and analysed with respect t...

The Antarctic Peninsula experiences a fast retreat of glaciers, which results in an increased release of particles and sedimentation and, thus, a decrease in the available photosynthetic active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm) for benthic primary production. In this study, we investigated how changes in the general sedimentation and shading patterns aff...

There is increasing concern that accelerating environmental change attributed to human-induced warming of the planet may substantially alter the patterns, distribution and intensity of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Changes in temperature, ocean acidification, precipitation, nutrient stress or availability, and the physical structure of the water col...

Organisms in shallow waters at high latitudes are under pressure due to climate change. These areas are typically inhabited by microphytobenthos (MPB) communities, composed mainly of diatoms. Only sparse information is available on the ecophysiology and acclimation processes within MPBs from Arctic regions. The physico-chemical environment and the...

Despite the long Swedish coastline, the ocean and the marine coastal environment are only superficially, if at all, discussed in Swedish educational material for comprehensive school as well as upper secondary school. Therefore, we designed a continuing professional development course for teachers and pre-service teachers covering several school su...

Meltwater discharge from tidewater glaciers impacts the adjacent marine environment. Due to the global warming, tidewater glaciers are retreating and will eventually terminate on land. Yet, the mechanisms through which meltwater runoff and subglacial discharge from tidewater glaciers influence marine primary production remain poorly understood, as...

In 2020, the global cap of maximum allowable sulphur content in marine fuel will be reduced from the current 3.5% to 0.5%. Another way to reduce the sulphur emissions is to install a seawater scrubber that cleans exhausts but instead release acidic water containing nutrients and contaminants back to the marine environment. In the current study, scr...

A new marine diatom species, Nitzschia biundulata is described. This species was collected and isolated from the ice cover in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica during the Austral summer, 2011. The description is based on light and scanning electron microscopes examination as well as molecular analysis including 18S SSU rRNA and rbcL. Morphologically, N....

This study aimed to investigate fatty acid content and productivity of the insufficiently investigated group of freshwater microalgae—desmids (Zygnematophyceae, Streptophyta)—and to estimate their commercial potential. A total of 29 desmid strains of various environmental preferences were grown in standard cultivation conditions to assess fatty aci...

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms (=cyanoHABs) are an increasing feature of many waterbodies throughout the world. Many bloom-forming species produce toxins, making them of particular concern for drinking water supplies, recreation and fisheries in waterbodies along the freshwater to marine continuum. Global changes resulting from human impacts, such a...

This paper is part of a project of studying benthic diatom biodiversity on marine coastal regions of Sweden with focus on rare and less known species. Two new species of Cocconeis Ehrenb. are described from Vrångö, a small island in the west coast of Sweden. Both species were found as epiphytic on the green alga Ulva intestinalis L. Cocconeis magno...

Temperature and CO2 levels are projected to increase in the future, with consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling in brackish environments, such as the Baltic Sea. Moreover, filamentous cyanobacteria are predicted to be favored over other phytoplankton groups under these conditions. Under a 12-day outdoor experiment, we examined the effect on a...

Our study addresses how environmental variables, such as macronutrients concentrations, snow cover, carbonate chemistry and salinity affect the photophysiology and biomass of Antarctic sea-ice algae. We have measured vertical profiles of inorganic macronutrients (phosphate, nitrite + nitrate and silicic acid) in summer sea ice and photophysiology o...

Light saturation point of photosynthesis (Ek) of sea-ice algae was positively correlated (p < 0.02, Pearson’s correlation) with time after the sampling the sea-ice cores in two of the eleven stations. The numbers 4–15 represent station number during the OSO10/11 cruise in the Amundsen and Ross Seas. (EPS)

Incoming surface photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) irradiance during the OSO10/11 cruise in the Amundsen and Ross Seas. Data were collected using a 2π PAR sensor placed on top of the bridge of IB Oden. (EPS)

Relationships between dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and (a) chl a concentration and (b) bacterial abundance in summer sea ice during the OSO10/11 cruise. The grey area in (a) represents 95% prediction intervals of the fitted line. All concentrations are scaled to brine volume. (EPS)

The evolutionary causes for generation of nano and microstructured silica by photosynthetic algae are not yet deciphered. Diatoms are single photosynthetic algal cells populating the oceans and waters around the globe. They generate a considerable fraction (20-30%) of all oxygen from photosynthesis, and 45% of total primary production of organic ma...

A new marine diatom, Gomphonemopsis ligowskii, is described. Gomphonemopsis ligowskii was found as an epiphyte on the brown macrophyte, Desmarestia anceps, collected from King George Island, Antarctica in January 2016. This species is the first of the genus described from a polar region. It is a small and relatively rare taxon that is characterized...

Helcom scenario modelling suggests that the Baltic Sea, one of the largest brackish-water bodies in the world, could expect increased precipitation (decreased salinity) and increased concentration of atmospheric CO2 over the next 100 years. These changes are expected to affect the microplanktonic food web, and thereby nutrient and carbon cycling, i...

The most dramatic effects of global climate change are predicted for the Arctic, and there is a raising concern about the lack of baseline information on microalgal biodiversity. The present study was motivated by the general lack of information on species distribution of Arctic benthic diatoms and particularly studies providing photographs to faci...

Scenario modeling suggests that the Baltic Sea, one of the largest brackish-water bodies in the world, could expect increased precipitation (decreased salinity) and increased concentration of atmospheric CO2 over the next 100 years. These changes are expected to affect the microplanktonic food web, and thereby nutrient and carbon cycling, in a comp...

Decreasing Arctic sea ice cover and increasing stratification of ocean surface waters make the exposure of pelagic microalgae to high irradiances more likely. Apart from light being a necessary prerequisite for photosynthesis, rapidly changing and/or high irradiances are potentially detrimental. An in situ study was performed in the high Arctic (79...

Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels are driving changes in the seawater carbonate system, resulting in higher pCO2 and reduced pH (ocean acidification). Many studies on marine organisms have focused on short-term physiological responses to increased pCO2, and few on slow-growing polar organisms with a relative low adaptation potential. In order to re...

In March and April 2010, we investigated the development of young landfast sea ice in Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard. We sampled the vertical column, including sea ice, brine, frost flowers and sea water, to determine the CO 2 system, nutrients, salinity and bacterial and ice algae production during a 13 day interval of ice growth. Apart from...

Diatoms are usually referred to as golden-brown microalgae, due to the colour of their plastids and to their pigment composition, mainly carotenoids (fucoxanthin, diadinoxanthin, diatoxanthin), which mask chlorophylls a and c. The species Haslea ostrearia Gaillon/Bory (Simonsen) appears unique because of its extraplastidial bluish colour, a consequ...

Rhoicosphenia michali sp. nov., described from the shallow sublittoral zone in Antarctica, is the second species in the genus with just one raphe slit on its convex valve. The first species, Rhoicosphenia flexa, was also described from marine coastal habitats in the Southern Hemisphere. Here, the morphology and ecology of R. flexa and R. michali ar...

Since land-based biofuel production competes with conventional food production, a water-based biomass and biofuel production from cyanobacteria offers large potential. This study investigates the application potential of cyanobacteria for fuel production and by-products by mimicking nutrient depleted environmental conditions. Three Baltic cyanobact...

Diatoms are usually referred to as golden-brown microalgae, due to the colour of their plastids and to their pigment composition, mainly carotenoids (fucoxanthin, diadinoxanthin, diatoxanthin), which mask chlorophylls a and c. The species Haslea ostrearia Gaillon/Bory (Simonsen) appears unique because of its extraplastidial bluish colour, a consequ...

Polar oceans are particularly susceptible to ocean acidification and warming. Diatoms play a significant role in sea ice biogeochemistry and provide an important food source to grazers in ice-covered oceans, especially during early spring. However, the ecophysiology of ice-living organisms has received little attention in terms of ocean acidificati...

Algal community species composition, as estimated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigments and microscopy analysis, and trace metal speciation (Cu and Co) and distributions (Fe, Zn, Co and Cu) were measured along a summer transect across the Skagerrak. In waters of Baltic origin, with elevated trace metals levels, but very low macr...

Focuses on the Scandinavian/South African Antarctic expedition conducted between December 4, 1997 to February 6, 1998 which determined the role of Southern Ocean in the global carbon cycle in physical and biological oceanographic studies. Aims of the expedition; Underway sampling conducted; Biological results of the expedition; Conclusions.

A future business-as-usual scenario (A1FI) was tested on two bloom-forming cyanobacteria of the Baltic Proper, Nodularia spumigena and Aphanizomenon sp., growing separately and together. The projected scenario was tested in two laboratory experiments where (a) interactive effects of increased temperature and decreased salinity and (b) interactive e...

The study of the blue diatoms from the genus Haslea is an arcane topic, due to investigations being restricted to the only species Haslea ostrearia (Gaillon/ Bory) Simonsen. This diatom, first observed in the early 19th century, has the peculiar ability to produce a non‐photosynthetic blue pigment, the so‐called marennine. This pigment’s name refer...

The invasive success of Gracilaria vermiculophylla has been attributed to its wide tolerance range to different abiotic factors, but its response to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is yet to be investigated. In the laboratory, carpospores and vegetative thalli of an Atlantic population were exposed to different radiation treatments consisting of high P...

Polar oceans are very susceptible to increased levels of atmospheric CO2 and may act as the world’s largest sink for anthropogenic CO2. Simultaneously, as atmospheric CO2 increases, sea surface temperature rises due to global warming. These two factors are important in regulating microalgal ecophysiology, and it has been suggested that future globa...

Overall the epiphytic community needs further research as they will spread conform with their hosts over the reefs in future. Macroalgae are becoming a dominant benthic component on Caribbean coral reefs, with increased abundance and frequency across all reef zones. Over the past two decades, different macroalgae like Lobophora variegata (Lamouroux...

A future business-as-usual scenario (A1FI) was tested on two bloom-forming cyanobacteria of the Baltic Proper, Nodularia spumigena and Aphanizomenon sp., growing separately and together. The projected scenario was tested in two laboratory experiments where (a) interactive effects of increased temperature and decreased salinity and (b) interactive e...

The cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea are dominated by diazotrophic cyanobacteria, the potentially toxic species Aphanizomenon sp. and the toxic species Nodularia spumigena. The seasonal succession with peaks of Aphanizomenon sp., followed by peaks of N. spumigena, has been explained by the species-specific niches of the two species. In a thr...