Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus
With the increasing imperative for societies to act to curb climate change by increasing carbon stores and sinks, it has become critical to understand how organic carbon is produced, released, transformed, transported, and sequestered within and across ecosystems. In freshwater and open-ocean system...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2685473 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04571-1 |
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ftimr:oai:imr.brage.unit.no:11250/2685473 2024-09-15T18:25:52+00:00 Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus Filbee-Dexter, Karen Pedersen, Morten Foldager Fredriksen, Stein Norderhaug, Kjell Magnus Rinde, Eli Kristiansen, Trond Albretsen, Jon Wernberg, Thomas 2019 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2685473 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04571-1 eng eng Norges forskningsråd: 160016 Norsk institutt for vannforskning: 180144.211 Norges forskningsråd: 255085 Oecologia. 2019, 192 213-225. urn:issn:0029-8549 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2685473 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04571-1 cristin:1793608 213-225 192 Oecologia Peer reviewed Journal article 2019 ftimr https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04571-1 2024-07-31T03:37:25Z With the increasing imperative for societies to act to curb climate change by increasing carbon stores and sinks, it has become critical to understand how organic carbon is produced, released, transformed, transported, and sequestered within and across ecosystems. In freshwater and open-ocean systems, shredders play a significant and well-known role in transforming and mobilizing carbon, but their role in the carbon cycle of coastal ecosystems is largely unknown. Marine plants such as kelps produce vast amounts of detritus, which can be captured and consumed by shedders as it traverses the seafloor. We measured capture and consumption rates of kelp detritus by sea urchins across four sampling periods and over a range of kelp detritus production rates and sea urchin densities, in northern Norway. When sea urchin densities exceeded 4 m−2, the sea urchins captured and consumed a high percentage (ca. 80%) of kelp detritus on shallow reefs. We calculated that between 1.3 and 10.8 kg of kelp m−2 are shredded annually from these reefs. We used a hydrodynamic dispersal model to show that transformation of kelp blades to sea urchin feces increased its export distance fourfold. Our findings show that sea urchins can accelerate and extend the export of carbon to neighboring areas. This collector–shredder pathway could represent a significant flow of small particulate carbon from kelp forests to deep-sea areas, where it can subsidize benthic communities or contribute to the global carbon sink. acceptedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Norway Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR Oecologia 192 1 213 225 |
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Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR |
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language |
English |
description |
With the increasing imperative for societies to act to curb climate change by increasing carbon stores and sinks, it has become critical to understand how organic carbon is produced, released, transformed, transported, and sequestered within and across ecosystems. In freshwater and open-ocean systems, shredders play a significant and well-known role in transforming and mobilizing carbon, but their role in the carbon cycle of coastal ecosystems is largely unknown. Marine plants such as kelps produce vast amounts of detritus, which can be captured and consumed by shedders as it traverses the seafloor. We measured capture and consumption rates of kelp detritus by sea urchins across four sampling periods and over a range of kelp detritus production rates and sea urchin densities, in northern Norway. When sea urchin densities exceeded 4 m−2, the sea urchins captured and consumed a high percentage (ca. 80%) of kelp detritus on shallow reefs. We calculated that between 1.3 and 10.8 kg of kelp m−2 are shredded annually from these reefs. We used a hydrodynamic dispersal model to show that transformation of kelp blades to sea urchin feces increased its export distance fourfold. Our findings show that sea urchins can accelerate and extend the export of carbon to neighboring areas. This collector–shredder pathway could represent a significant flow of small particulate carbon from kelp forests to deep-sea areas, where it can subsidize benthic communities or contribute to the global carbon sink. acceptedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Filbee-Dexter, Karen Pedersen, Morten Foldager Fredriksen, Stein Norderhaug, Kjell Magnus Rinde, Eli Kristiansen, Trond Albretsen, Jon Wernberg, Thomas |
spellingShingle |
Filbee-Dexter, Karen Pedersen, Morten Foldager Fredriksen, Stein Norderhaug, Kjell Magnus Rinde, Eli Kristiansen, Trond Albretsen, Jon Wernberg, Thomas Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus |
author_facet |
Filbee-Dexter, Karen Pedersen, Morten Foldager Fredriksen, Stein Norderhaug, Kjell Magnus Rinde, Eli Kristiansen, Trond Albretsen, Jon Wernberg, Thomas |
author_sort |
Filbee-Dexter, Karen |
title |
Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus |
title_short |
Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus |
title_full |
Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus |
title_fullStr |
Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus |
title_sort |
carbon export is facilitated by sea urchins transforming kelp detritus |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2685473 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04571-1 |
genre |
Northern Norway |
genre_facet |
Northern Norway |
op_source |
213-225 192 Oecologia |
op_relation |
Norges forskningsråd: 160016 Norsk institutt for vannforskning: 180144.211 Norges forskningsråd: 255085 Oecologia. 2019, 192 213-225. urn:issn:0029-8549 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2685473 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04571-1 cristin:1793608 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04571-1 |
container_title |
Oecologia |
container_volume |
192 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
213 |
op_container_end_page |
225 |
_version_ |
1810466347213127680 |