Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers
Remineralization of organic matter at the seafloor is an important ecosystem function, as it drives carbon and nutrient cycling, supplying nutrients for photosynthetic production, but also controls carbon burial within the sediment. In the Arctic Ocean, changes in primary production due to rapid sea...
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2020
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426 https://doaj.org/article/8273d2f3b3594ed1a5822e603b5aa7f7 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8273d2f3b3594ed1a5822e603b5aa7f7 2023-05-15T14:44:27+02:00 Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers Joshua Kiesel Christina Bienhold Frank Wenzhöfer Heike Link 2020-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426 https://doaj.org/article/8273d2f3b3594ed1a5822e603b5aa7f7 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00426 https://doaj.org/article/8273d2f3b3594ed1a5822e603b5aa7f7 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 7 (2020) sediment oxygen uptake organic matter central Arctic Ocean shelf deep-sea pan-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426 2022-12-31T11:57:18Z Remineralization of organic matter at the seafloor is an important ecosystem function, as it drives carbon and nutrient cycling, supplying nutrients for photosynthetic production, but also controls carbon burial within the sediment. In the Arctic Ocean, changes in primary production due to rapid sea-ice decline and thinning affect the export of organic matter to the seafloor and thus, benthic ecosystem functioning. Due to the remoteness and difficult accessibility of the Arctic Ocean, we still lack baseline knowledge about patterns of benthic remineralization rates and their drivers in both shelf and deep-sea sediments. Particularly comparative studies across regions are scarce. Here, we address this knowledge gap by contrasting benthic diffusive and total oxygen uptake rates (DOU and TOU), both established proxies of the benthic remineralization function, between shelf and deep-sea habitats of the Barents Sea and the central Arctic Ocean, sampled during a RV Polarstern expedition in 2015. DOU and TOU were measured using ex situ porewater oxygen microprofiles and sediment core incubations, respectively. In addition, contextual parameters including organic matter availability and microbial cell numbers were determined as environmental predictors. Pan-Arctic regional comparisons were obtained by extending our analyses to previously published data from the Laptev and Beaufort Seas. Our results show that (1) benthic oxygen uptake rates and most environmental predictors varied significantly between shelf and deep-sea habitats; (2) the availability of detrital organic matter is the main driver for patterns in total as well as diffusive respiration, while bacterial abundances were highly variable and only a weak predictor of differences in TOU and DOU; (3) regional differences in oxygen uptake across shelf and deep-sea sediments were mainly related to organic matter availability and may reflect varying primary production regimes and distances to the nearest shelf. Our findings suggest that the expected decline in ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea laptev Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Frontiers in Marine Science 7 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
sediment oxygen uptake organic matter central Arctic Ocean shelf deep-sea pan-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
sediment oxygen uptake organic matter central Arctic Ocean shelf deep-sea pan-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Joshua Kiesel Christina Bienhold Frank Wenzhöfer Heike Link Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers |
topic_facet |
sediment oxygen uptake organic matter central Arctic Ocean shelf deep-sea pan-Arctic Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Remineralization of organic matter at the seafloor is an important ecosystem function, as it drives carbon and nutrient cycling, supplying nutrients for photosynthetic production, but also controls carbon burial within the sediment. In the Arctic Ocean, changes in primary production due to rapid sea-ice decline and thinning affect the export of organic matter to the seafloor and thus, benthic ecosystem functioning. Due to the remoteness and difficult accessibility of the Arctic Ocean, we still lack baseline knowledge about patterns of benthic remineralization rates and their drivers in both shelf and deep-sea sediments. Particularly comparative studies across regions are scarce. Here, we address this knowledge gap by contrasting benthic diffusive and total oxygen uptake rates (DOU and TOU), both established proxies of the benthic remineralization function, between shelf and deep-sea habitats of the Barents Sea and the central Arctic Ocean, sampled during a RV Polarstern expedition in 2015. DOU and TOU were measured using ex situ porewater oxygen microprofiles and sediment core incubations, respectively. In addition, contextual parameters including organic matter availability and microbial cell numbers were determined as environmental predictors. Pan-Arctic regional comparisons were obtained by extending our analyses to previously published data from the Laptev and Beaufort Seas. Our results show that (1) benthic oxygen uptake rates and most environmental predictors varied significantly between shelf and deep-sea habitats; (2) the availability of detrital organic matter is the main driver for patterns in total as well as diffusive respiration, while bacterial abundances were highly variable and only a weak predictor of differences in TOU and DOU; (3) regional differences in oxygen uptake across shelf and deep-sea sediments were mainly related to organic matter availability and may reflect varying primary production regimes and distances to the nearest shelf. Our findings suggest that the expected decline in ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Joshua Kiesel Christina Bienhold Frank Wenzhöfer Heike Link |
author_facet |
Joshua Kiesel Christina Bienhold Frank Wenzhöfer Heike Link |
author_sort |
Joshua Kiesel |
title |
Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers |
title_short |
Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers |
title_full |
Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers |
title_fullStr |
Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers |
title_sort |
variability in benthic ecosystem functioning in arctic shelf and deep-sea sediments: assessments by benthic oxygen uptake rates and environmental drivers |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426 https://doaj.org/article/8273d2f3b3594ed1a5822e603b5aa7f7 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea laptev Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea laptev Sea ice |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 7 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00426 https://doaj.org/article/8273d2f3b3594ed1a5822e603b5aa7f7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
7 |
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1766315951052029952 |