Plankton community respiration (PCR) plays a central role in aquatic ecosystems, driving the breakdown of organic matter and influencing global carbon cycling through its contribution to the production and consumption of carbon and oxygen. Coastal areas are regarded as metabolic hotspots in the oceans, due to their intense biological and biogeochemical activities. This review synthesizes experimental evidence to explore how environmental constraints and climate drivers affect PCR in European coastal waters. In total, 46 studies were found in which PCR was measured during experiments testing the effects of one or multiple global climate change drivers in European coastal waters. Among them, the majority of experiments focused on changes in temperature, nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry, and/or pH, while other stressors were less studied. In addition to this qualitative synthesis, a quantitative meta-analysis was conducted on warming and acidification experiments, the only drivers for which comparable experimental designs were available. This analysis, based on 19 warming and 6 acidification studies, was used to perform a standardized comparison of effect sizes across studied areas and experimental set-ups. This review highlights critical knowledge gaps, notably regarding non- and understudied areas and understudied interactions between stressors that occurs jointly in ecosystems.
Soulié T., 2026. Experimental evidence of climate change effects on plankton community respiration in European coastal waters: current insights and knowledge gaps in tested disturbances and studied areas. Journal of Plankton Research 48(4): fbag049. doi: 10.1093/plankt/fbag049. Article.
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