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# Coastal browning changed plankton succession, then grazing erased much of the early signal
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/2026-09-26-coastal-browning-iron-plankton/
- Published: 2026-09-26T11:03:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-26T11:03:59.000Z
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: coastal browning, iron, plankton, Food webs, Oceans, Climate, microbial ecology, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-09-26, #global-radar, #peer-reviewed, #geo-global

Evidence

Peer-reviewed

Geography

Controlled coastal mesocosm experiment

System

Coastal plankton food web

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

A 22-day mesocosm experiment manipulating colored dissolved organic matter and iron availability initially increased small phytoplankton despite lower light, but later treatment differences weakened after phytoplankton and microzooplankton declined under mesozooplankton grazing.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

Browning and micronutrient chemistry can alter early plankton succession without determining the final community trajectory; food-web interactions can override a strong bottom-up signal.

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

This was a short controlled mesocosm experiment. The treatment chemistry simplifies natural catchment inputs, and the inferred food-web mechanism needs field validation across seasons and coastal systems.

## SOURCE

Microbial Ecology  
[View original evidence ↗](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00248-026-02856-6?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From the Morning Brief · 2026-09-26

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-09-26/)