The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific
Zooplankton are important consumers of sinking particles in the ocean’s twilight zone. However, the impact of different taxa depends on their feeding mode. In contrast to typical suspension-feeding zooplankton, flux-feeding taxa preferentially consume rapidly sinking particles that would otherwise p...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c62202d0ff2640d89d0ca42bc4daedc2 2023-05-15T17:08:03+02:00 The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific Michael R. Stukel Mark D. Ohman Thomas B. Kelly Tristan Biard 2019-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00397 https://doaj.org/article/c62202d0ff2640d89d0ca42bc4daedc2 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00397/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00397 https://doaj.org/article/c62202d0ff2640d89d0ca42bc4daedc2 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 6 (2019) biological pump carbon export remineralization length scale mesozooplankton ecology pteropods marine biogeochemistry Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00397 2022-12-31T12:20:55Z Zooplankton are important consumers of sinking particles in the ocean’s twilight zone. However, the impact of different taxa depends on their feeding mode. In contrast to typical suspension-feeding zooplankton, flux-feeding taxa preferentially consume rapidly sinking particles that would otherwise penetrate into the deep ocean. To quantify the potential impact of two flux-feeding zooplankton taxa [Aulosphaeridae (Rhizaria), and Limacina helicina (euthecosome pteropod)] and the total suspension-feeding zooplankton community, we measured depth-stratified abundances of these organisms during six cruises in the California Current Ecosystem. Using allometric–scaling relationships, we computed the percentage of carbon flux intercepted by flux feeders and suspension feeders. These estimates were compared to direct measurements of carbon flux attenuation (CFA) made using drifting sediment traps and 238U–234Th disequilibrium. We found that CFA in the shallow twilight zone typically ranged from 500 to 1000 μmol organic C flux remineralized per 10-m vertical depth bin. This equated to approximately 6–10% of carbon flux remineralized/10 m. The two flux-feeding taxa considered in this study could account for a substantial proportion of this flux near the base of the euphotic zone. The mean flux attenuation attributable to Aulosphaeridae was 0.69%/10 m (median = 0.21%/10 m, interquartile range = 0.04–0.81%) at their depth of maximum abundance (∼100 m), which would equate to ∼10% of total flux attenuation in this depth range. The maximum flux attenuation attributable to Aulosphaeridae reached 4.2%/10 m when these protists were most abundant. L. helicina, meanwhile, could intercept 0.45–1.6% of carbon flux/10 m, which was slightly greater (on average) than the Aulosphaeridae. In contrast, suspension-feeding zooplankton in the mesopelagic (including copepods, euphausiids, appendicularians, and ostracods) had combined clearance rates of 2–81 L m-3 day-1 (mean of 19.6 L m-3 day-1). This implies a substantial impact on slowly ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Limacina helicina Copepods Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Frontiers in Marine Science 6 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
biological pump carbon export remineralization length scale mesozooplankton ecology pteropods marine biogeochemistry Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
biological pump carbon export remineralization length scale mesozooplankton ecology pteropods marine biogeochemistry Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Michael R. Stukel Mark D. Ohman Thomas B. Kelly Tristan Biard The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific |
topic_facet |
biological pump carbon export remineralization length scale mesozooplankton ecology pteropods marine biogeochemistry Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Zooplankton are important consumers of sinking particles in the ocean’s twilight zone. However, the impact of different taxa depends on their feeding mode. In contrast to typical suspension-feeding zooplankton, flux-feeding taxa preferentially consume rapidly sinking particles that would otherwise penetrate into the deep ocean. To quantify the potential impact of two flux-feeding zooplankton taxa [Aulosphaeridae (Rhizaria), and Limacina helicina (euthecosome pteropod)] and the total suspension-feeding zooplankton community, we measured depth-stratified abundances of these organisms during six cruises in the California Current Ecosystem. Using allometric–scaling relationships, we computed the percentage of carbon flux intercepted by flux feeders and suspension feeders. These estimates were compared to direct measurements of carbon flux attenuation (CFA) made using drifting sediment traps and 238U–234Th disequilibrium. We found that CFA in the shallow twilight zone typically ranged from 500 to 1000 μmol organic C flux remineralized per 10-m vertical depth bin. This equated to approximately 6–10% of carbon flux remineralized/10 m. The two flux-feeding taxa considered in this study could account for a substantial proportion of this flux near the base of the euphotic zone. The mean flux attenuation attributable to Aulosphaeridae was 0.69%/10 m (median = 0.21%/10 m, interquartile range = 0.04–0.81%) at their depth of maximum abundance (∼100 m), which would equate to ∼10% of total flux attenuation in this depth range. The maximum flux attenuation attributable to Aulosphaeridae reached 4.2%/10 m when these protists were most abundant. L. helicina, meanwhile, could intercept 0.45–1.6% of carbon flux/10 m, which was slightly greater (on average) than the Aulosphaeridae. In contrast, suspension-feeding zooplankton in the mesopelagic (including copepods, euphausiids, appendicularians, and ostracods) had combined clearance rates of 2–81 L m-3 day-1 (mean of 19.6 L m-3 day-1). This implies a substantial impact on slowly ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Michael R. Stukel Mark D. Ohman Thomas B. Kelly Tristan Biard |
author_facet |
Michael R. Stukel Mark D. Ohman Thomas B. Kelly Tristan Biard |
author_sort |
Michael R. Stukel |
title |
The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific |
title_short |
The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific |
title_full |
The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific |
title_fullStr |
The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Roles of Suspension-Feeding and Flux-Feeding Zooplankton as Gatekeepers of Particle Flux Into the Mesopelagic Ocean in the Northeast Pacific |
title_sort |
roles of suspension-feeding and flux-feeding zooplankton as gatekeepers of particle flux into the mesopelagic ocean in the northeast pacific |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00397 https://doaj.org/article/c62202d0ff2640d89d0ca42bc4daedc2 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Limacina helicina Copepods |
genre_facet |
Limacina helicina Copepods |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 6 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00397/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00397 https://doaj.org/article/c62202d0ff2640d89d0ca42bc4daedc2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00397 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
6 |
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1766063604323319808 |