Ocean Acidification-Induced Restructuring of the Plankton Food Web Can Influence the Degradation of Sinking Particles ...

• Main Authors: Stange, Paul, Taucher, Jan, Bach, Lennart T., Algueró-Muñiz, María, Horn, Henriette G., Krebs, Luana, Boxhammer, Tim, Nauendorf, Alice K., Riebesell, Ulf
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2018
• Subjects: sinking; particles; degradation; elemental stoichiometry; plankton; food-webs; ocean acidification; zooplankton; North Atlantic; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000268381; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/268381

Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to alter plankton community structure in the future ocean. This, in turn, could change the composition of sinking organic matter and the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. So far, most OA experiments involving entire plankton communities have been conducted in meso- to eutrophic environments. However, recent studies suggest that OA effects may be more pronounced during prolonged periods of nutrient limitation. In this study, we investigated how OA-induced changes in low-nutrient adapted plankton communities of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean may affect particulate organic matter (POM) standing stocks, POM fluxes, and POM stoichiometry. More specifically, we compared the elemental composition of POM suspended in the water column to the corresponding sinking material collected in sediment traps. Three weeks into the experiment, we simulated a natural upwelling event by adding nutrient-rich deep-water to all mesocosms, which induced a diatom-dominated ... : Frontiers in Marine Science, 5 ...