Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling
Defecation by large whales is known to fertilise oceans with nutrients, stimulating phytoplankton and ecosystem productivity. However, our current understanding of these processes is limited to a few species, nutrients and ecosystems. Here, we investigate the role of cetacean communities in the worl...
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Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-04222776 https://hal.science/hal-04222776/document https://hal.science/hal-04222776/file/GNC14_2023.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y |
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-04222776v1 2024-02-27T08:39:02+00:00 Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling Gilbert, Lola Jeanniard-Du-Dot, Tiphaine Authier, Matthieu Chouvelon, Tiphaine Spitz, Jérôme Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) Observatoire pour la Conservation de la Mégafaune Marine (PELAGIS) LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes Marins (CCEM) Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) 2023 https://hal.science/hal-04222776 https://hal.science/hal-04222776/document https://hal.science/hal-04222776/file/GNC14_2023.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y en eng HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y hal-04222776 https://hal.science/hal-04222776 https://hal.science/hal-04222776/document https://hal.science/hal-04222776/file/GNC14_2023.pdf doi:10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 2041-1723 EISSN: 2041-1723 Nature Communications https://hal.science/hal-04222776 Nature Communications, 2023, 14, pp.5823. ⟨10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y⟩ Biodiversity Climate-change ecology Ecosystem ecology Marine biology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2023 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y 2024-01-28T00:32:18Z Defecation by large whales is known to fertilise oceans with nutrients, stimulating phytoplankton and ecosystem productivity. However, our current understanding of these processes is limited to a few species, nutrients and ecosystems. Here, we investigate the role of cetacean communities in the worldwide biological cycling of two major nutrients and six trace nutrients. We show that cetaceans release more nutrients in mesotrophic to eutrophic temperate waters than in oligotrophic tropical waters, mirroring patterns of ecosystem productivity. The released nutrient cocktails also vary geographically, driven by the composition of cetacean communities. The roles of small cetaceans, deep diving cetaceans and baleen whales differ quantitatively and functionally, with contributions of small cetaceans and deep divers exceeding those of large whales in some areas. The functional diversity of cetacean communities expands beyond their role as top predators to include their role as active nutrient vectors, which might be equally important to local ecosystem dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Nature Communications 14 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
Biodiversity Climate-change ecology Ecosystem ecology Marine biology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Biodiversity Climate-change ecology Ecosystem ecology Marine biology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography Gilbert, Lola Jeanniard-Du-Dot, Tiphaine Authier, Matthieu Chouvelon, Tiphaine Spitz, Jérôme Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling |
topic_facet |
Biodiversity Climate-change ecology Ecosystem ecology Marine biology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography |
description |
Defecation by large whales is known to fertilise oceans with nutrients, stimulating phytoplankton and ecosystem productivity. However, our current understanding of these processes is limited to a few species, nutrients and ecosystems. Here, we investigate the role of cetacean communities in the worldwide biological cycling of two major nutrients and six trace nutrients. We show that cetaceans release more nutrients in mesotrophic to eutrophic temperate waters than in oligotrophic tropical waters, mirroring patterns of ecosystem productivity. The released nutrient cocktails also vary geographically, driven by the composition of cetacean communities. The roles of small cetaceans, deep diving cetaceans and baleen whales differ quantitatively and functionally, with contributions of small cetaceans and deep divers exceeding those of large whales in some areas. The functional diversity of cetacean communities expands beyond their role as top predators to include their role as active nutrient vectors, which might be equally important to local ecosystem dynamics. |
author2 |
Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) Observatoire pour la Conservation de la Mégafaune Marine (PELAGIS) LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes Marins (CCEM) Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gilbert, Lola Jeanniard-Du-Dot, Tiphaine Authier, Matthieu Chouvelon, Tiphaine Spitz, Jérôme |
author_facet |
Gilbert, Lola Jeanniard-Du-Dot, Tiphaine Authier, Matthieu Chouvelon, Tiphaine Spitz, Jérôme |
author_sort |
Gilbert, Lola |
title |
Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling |
title_short |
Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling |
title_full |
Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling |
title_fullStr |
Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling |
title_full_unstemmed |
Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling |
title_sort |
composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-04222776 https://hal.science/hal-04222776/document https://hal.science/hal-04222776/file/GNC14_2023.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_source |
ISSN: 2041-1723 EISSN: 2041-1723 Nature Communications https://hal.science/hal-04222776 Nature Communications, 2023, 14, pp.5823. ⟨10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y hal-04222776 https://hal.science/hal-04222776 https://hal.science/hal-04222776/document https://hal.science/hal-04222776/file/GNC14_2023.pdf doi:10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41532-y |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1792046020037705728 |