Differences in carbon acquisition could explain adaptive responses in a Baltic Sea pico-phytoplankton

The data uploaded are the basis of study on the carbon update in a Baltic Sea Pico-plankton species. Our study addresses a challenging question concerning the adaptive responses to warming and carbon uptake related strategies in a pico-phytoplankton species, which are, unlike bloom-forming, larger phytoplankton, contributing to the carbon cycle and the base of food-webs all year round. In addition, we address this question also in non-exponential growth conditions. This is important considering that most phytoplankton species are likely not at exponential phase all the time. We show that space for time substitution experiments provide a valid method for investigating questions about the adaptive potential in pico-phytoplankton that the measurements of potential growth on organic carbon sources can potentially highlight differences in carbon acquisition strategies.