Dispersal, location of bloom initiation, and nutrient conditions determine the dominance of the harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella: A meta‐ecosystem study

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are globally increasing in number and spatial extent. However, their propagation dynamics along environmental gradients and the associated interplay of abiotic factors and biotic interactions are still poorly understood. In this study, a nutrient gradient was established in a linear meta‐ecosystem setup of five interconnected flasks containing an artificially assembled phytoplankton community. The harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella was introduced into different positions along the nutrient gradient to investigate dispersal and spatial community dynamics. Overall, total algal biovolume increased, while community evenness decreased with increasing nutrient concentrations along the gradient. Alexandrium was able to disperse through all flasks. On the regional scale, diatoms dominated the community, whereas on the local scale the dinoflagellate showed higher contributions at low nutrient concentrations and dominated the community at the lowest nutrient concentration, but only when initiated into this flask. A control treatment without dispersal revealed an even stronger dominance of Alexandrium at the lowest nutrient concentration, indicating that dispersal and the associated nutrient exchange may weaken dinoflagellate dominance under low nutrient conditions. This study presents a first approach to experimentally investigate spatial dynamics and ecological interactions of a harmful dinoflagellate along an environmental gradient in a meta‐ecosystem setup, which has the potential to substantially enhance our understanding of the relevance of dispersal for HAB formation and propagation in combination with local environmental factors.