The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica
Fecal pellets (FP) are a key component of the biological carbon pump, as they can, under some circumstances, efficiently transfer carbon to depth. Like other forms of particulate organic carbon (POC), they can be remineralized in the ocean interior (particularly in the upper 200 m), or alternatively...
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2016
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:512627 2023-05-15T13:49:32+02:00 The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica Belcher, Anna Iversen, Morten Manno, Clara Henson, Stephanie A. Tarling, Geraint A. Sanders, Richard 2016-05 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/7/lno10269.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/1/Belcher_manuscript_R2_Final_Figures.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269 en eng https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/7/lno10269.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/1/Belcher_manuscript_R2_Final_Figures.pdf Belcher, Anna orcid:0000-0002-9583-5910 Iversen, Morten; Manno, Clara orcid:0000-0002-3337-6173 Henson, Stephanie A. orcid:0000-0002-3875-6802 Tarling, Geraint A. orcid:0000-0002-3753-5899 Sanders, Richard orcid:0000-0002-6884-7131 . 2016 The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica. Limnology and Oceanography, 61 (3). 1049-1064. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269 <https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269> cc_by_4 CC-BY Marine Sciences Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2016 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269 2023-02-04T19:42:31Z Fecal pellets (FP) are a key component of the biological carbon pump, as they can, under some circumstances, efficiently transfer carbon to depth. Like other forms of particulate organic carbon (POC), they can be remineralized in the ocean interior (particularly in the upper 200 m), or alternatively they can be preserved in the sediments. The controls on the attenuation of FP flux with depth are not fully understood, in particular, the relative contributions of zooplankton fragmentation and microbial/zooplankton respiration to FP loss. Collection of sinking particles using Marine Snow Catchers at three ecologically contrasting sites in the Scotia Sea, Antarctica, revealed large differences in POC flux composition (5–96% FP) and flux attenuation despite similar temperatures. To determine the importance of microbial respiration on FP loss in the upper mesopelagic, we made the first ever measurements of small scale oxygen gradients through the boundary layer at the interface of krill FP collected from the Scotia Sea. Estimated carbon-specific respiration rates of microbes within FP (0.010–0.065 d−1) were too low to account for the observed large decreases in FP flux over the upper 200 m. Therefore, the observed rapid declines in downward FP flux in the upper mesopelagic are more likely to be caused by zooplankton, through coprophagy, coprorhexy, and coprochaly. Microbial respiration is likely to be more important in regions of higher temperatures, and at times of the year, or in depths of the ocean, where zooplankton abundances are low and therefore grazing and fragmentation processes are reduced. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Scotia Sea Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Scotia Sea Limnology and Oceanography 61 3 1049 1064 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
topic |
Marine Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Marine Sciences Belcher, Anna Iversen, Morten Manno, Clara Henson, Stephanie A. Tarling, Geraint A. Sanders, Richard The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Marine Sciences |
description |
Fecal pellets (FP) are a key component of the biological carbon pump, as they can, under some circumstances, efficiently transfer carbon to depth. Like other forms of particulate organic carbon (POC), they can be remineralized in the ocean interior (particularly in the upper 200 m), or alternatively they can be preserved in the sediments. The controls on the attenuation of FP flux with depth are not fully understood, in particular, the relative contributions of zooplankton fragmentation and microbial/zooplankton respiration to FP loss. Collection of sinking particles using Marine Snow Catchers at three ecologically contrasting sites in the Scotia Sea, Antarctica, revealed large differences in POC flux composition (5–96% FP) and flux attenuation despite similar temperatures. To determine the importance of microbial respiration on FP loss in the upper mesopelagic, we made the first ever measurements of small scale oxygen gradients through the boundary layer at the interface of krill FP collected from the Scotia Sea. Estimated carbon-specific respiration rates of microbes within FP (0.010–0.065 d−1) were too low to account for the observed large decreases in FP flux over the upper 200 m. Therefore, the observed rapid declines in downward FP flux in the upper mesopelagic are more likely to be caused by zooplankton, through coprophagy, coprorhexy, and coprochaly. Microbial respiration is likely to be more important in regions of higher temperatures, and at times of the year, or in depths of the ocean, where zooplankton abundances are low and therefore grazing and fragmentation processes are reduced. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Belcher, Anna Iversen, Morten Manno, Clara Henson, Stephanie A. Tarling, Geraint A. Sanders, Richard |
author_facet |
Belcher, Anna Iversen, Morten Manno, Clara Henson, Stephanie A. Tarling, Geraint A. Sanders, Richard |
author_sort |
Belcher, Anna |
title |
The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica |
title_short |
The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica |
title_full |
The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica |
title_sort |
role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the scotia sea, antarctica |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/7/lno10269.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/1/Belcher_manuscript_R2_Final_Figures.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269 |
geographic |
Scotia Sea |
geographic_facet |
Scotia Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Scotia Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Scotia Sea |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/7/lno10269.pdf https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512627/1/Belcher_manuscript_R2_Final_Figures.pdf Belcher, Anna orcid:0000-0002-9583-5910 Iversen, Morten; Manno, Clara orcid:0000-0002-3337-6173 Henson, Stephanie A. orcid:0000-0002-3875-6802 Tarling, Geraint A. orcid:0000-0002-3753-5899 Sanders, Richard orcid:0000-0002-6884-7131 . 2016 The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica. Limnology and Oceanography, 61 (3). 1049-1064. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269 <https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10269 |
container_title |
Limnology and Oceanography |
container_volume |
61 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1049 |
op_container_end_page |
1064 |
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1766251518681415680 |