Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean)
Although coccolithophores are not as numerically common or as diverse in the Southern Ocean as they are in subpolar waters of the North Atlantic, a few species, such as Emiliania huxleyi , are found during the summer months. Little is actually known about the calcite production (CP) of these communi...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2cc39b0d2ff14342b9c03366fc64a0d2 2023-05-15T13:37:07+02:00 Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) A. Charalampopoulou A. J. Poulton D. C. E. Bakker M. I. Lucas M. C. Stinchcombe T. Tyrrell 2016-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5917-2016 https://doaj.org/article/2cc39b0d2ff14342b9c03366fc64a0d2 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/5917/2016/bg-13-5917-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-13-5917-2016 https://doaj.org/article/2cc39b0d2ff14342b9c03366fc64a0d2 Biogeosciences, Vol 13, Iss 21, Pp 5917-5935 (2016) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5917-2016 2022-12-31T07:25:56Z Although coccolithophores are not as numerically common or as diverse in the Southern Ocean as they are in subpolar waters of the North Atlantic, a few species, such as Emiliania huxleyi , are found during the summer months. Little is actually known about the calcite production (CP) of these communities or how their distribution and physiology relate to environmental variables in this region. In February 2009, we made observations across Drake Passage (between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula) of coccolithophore distribution, CP, primary production, chlorophyll a and macronutrient concentrations, irradiance and carbonate chemistry. Although CP represented less than 1 % of total carbon fixation, coccolithophores were widespread across Drake Passage. The B/C morphotype of E. huxleyi was the dominant coccolithophore, with low estimates of coccolith calcite (∼ 0.01 pmol C coccolith −1 ) from biometric measurements. Both cell-normalised calcification (0.01–0.16 pmol C cell −1 d −1 ) and total CP (< 20 µmol C m −3 d −1 ) were much lower than those observed in the subpolar North Atlantic where E. huxleyi morphotype A is dominant. However, estimates of coccolith production rates were similar (0.1–1.2 coccoliths cell −1 h −1 ) to previous measurements made in the subpolar North Atlantic. A multivariate statistical approach found that temperature and irradiance together were best able to explain the observed variation in species distribution and abundance (Spearman's rank correlation ρ = 0.4, p < 0.01). Rates of calcification per cell and coccolith production, as well as community CP and E. huxleyi abundance, were all positively correlated ( p < 0.05) to the strong latitudinal gradient in temperature, irradiance and calcite saturation states across Drake Passage. Broadly, our results lend support to recent suggestions that coccolithophores, especially E. huxleyi , are advancing polewards. However, our in situ observations indicate that this may owe more to sea-surface warming and increasing irradiance ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage North Atlantic Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage Biogeosciences 13 21 5917 5935 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 A. Charalampopoulou A. J. Poulton D. C. E. Bakker M. I. Lucas M. C. Stinchcombe T. Tyrrell Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Although coccolithophores are not as numerically common or as diverse in the Southern Ocean as they are in subpolar waters of the North Atlantic, a few species, such as Emiliania huxleyi , are found during the summer months. Little is actually known about the calcite production (CP) of these communities or how their distribution and physiology relate to environmental variables in this region. In February 2009, we made observations across Drake Passage (between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula) of coccolithophore distribution, CP, primary production, chlorophyll a and macronutrient concentrations, irradiance and carbonate chemistry. Although CP represented less than 1 % of total carbon fixation, coccolithophores were widespread across Drake Passage. The B/C morphotype of E. huxleyi was the dominant coccolithophore, with low estimates of coccolith calcite (∼ 0.01 pmol C coccolith −1 ) from biometric measurements. Both cell-normalised calcification (0.01–0.16 pmol C cell −1 d −1 ) and total CP (< 20 µmol C m −3 d −1 ) were much lower than those observed in the subpolar North Atlantic where E. huxleyi morphotype A is dominant. However, estimates of coccolith production rates were similar (0.1–1.2 coccoliths cell −1 h −1 ) to previous measurements made in the subpolar North Atlantic. A multivariate statistical approach found that temperature and irradiance together were best able to explain the observed variation in species distribution and abundance (Spearman's rank correlation ρ = 0.4, p < 0.01). Rates of calcification per cell and coccolith production, as well as community CP and E. huxleyi abundance, were all positively correlated ( p < 0.05) to the strong latitudinal gradient in temperature, irradiance and calcite saturation states across Drake Passage. Broadly, our results lend support to recent suggestions that coccolithophores, especially E. huxleyi , are advancing polewards. However, our in situ observations indicate that this may owe more to sea-surface warming and increasing irradiance ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Charalampopoulou A. J. Poulton D. C. E. Bakker M. I. Lucas M. C. Stinchcombe T. Tyrrell |
author_facet |
A. Charalampopoulou A. J. Poulton D. C. E. Bakker M. I. Lucas M. C. Stinchcombe T. Tyrrell |
author_sort |
A. Charalampopoulou |
title |
Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) |
title_short |
Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) |
title_full |
Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) |
title_fullStr |
Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) |
title_sort |
environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across drake passage (southern ocean) |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5917-2016 https://doaj.org/article/2cc39b0d2ff14342b9c03366fc64a0d2 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage North Atlantic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage North Atlantic Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 13, Iss 21, Pp 5917-5935 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/5917/2016/bg-13-5917-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-13-5917-2016 https://doaj.org/article/2cc39b0d2ff14342b9c03366fc64a0d2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5917-2016 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
21 |
container_start_page |
5917 |
op_container_end_page |
5935 |
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1766088169404497920 |