Data from: Meta-analysis reveals enhanced growth of marine harmful algae from temperate regions with warming and elevated CO2 levels

Elevated pCO2 and warming may promote algal growth and toxin production,
and thereby possibly support the proliferation and toxicity of HABs. Here,
we tested whether empirical data supports this hypothesis using a
meta-analytic approach and investigated the responses of growth rate and
toxin content or toxicity of numerous marine and estuarine HAB species to
elevated pCO2 and warming. Most of the available data on HAB responses
towards the two tested climate change variables concerns dinoflagellates,
as many members of this phytoplankton group are known to cause HAB
outbreaks. Toxin content and toxicity did not reveal a consistent response
towards both tested climate change variables, while growth rate increased
consistently with elevated pCO2 . Warming also led to higher growth rates,
but only for species isolated at higher latitudes. The observed gradient
in temperature growth responses shows the potential for enhanced
development of HABs at higher latitudes. Increases in growth rates with
more CO2 may present an additional competitive advantage for HAB species,
particularly as CO2 was not shown to enhance growth rate of other non-HAB
phytoplankton species. However, this may also be related to the difference
in representation of dinoflagellate and diatom species in the respective
HAB and non-HAB phytoplankton groups. Since the proliferation of HAB
species may strongly depend on their growth rates, our results warn for a
greater potential of dinoflagellate HAB development in future coastal
waters, particularly in temperate regions.