The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity
Highlights • Oceanic nutrient supply from seabird guano is poorly constrained by field observations. • This was assessed for guano from caught-and-released North Atlantic seabirds. • Guano released nutrients and relieved in situ phytoplankton nutrient limitation. • Guano was modelled to potentially...
Published in: | Science of The Total Environment |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023
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Online Access: | https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/1/revised%20manuscript%20with%20no%20changes%20marked.docx https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/2/Browning%20et%20al.%202023%20Sci%20Tot%20Env.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/9/Browning_Supplementary_Material.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 |
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:58922 2024-02-11T10:06:06+01:00 The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity Browning, Thomas J. Al-Hashem, Ali A. Achterberg, Eric Pieter Carvalho, Paloma C. Catry, Paulo Matthiopoulos, Jason Miller, Julie A.O. Wakefield, Ewan D. 2023-11 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/1/revised%20manuscript%20with%20no%20changes%20marked.docx https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/2/Browning%20et%20al.%202023%20Sci%20Tot%20Env.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/9/Browning_Supplementary_Material.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 en eng Elsevier https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/1/revised%20manuscript%20with%20no%20changes%20marked.docx https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/2/Browning%20et%20al.%202023%20Sci%20Tot%20Env.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/9/Browning_Supplementary_Material.pdf Browning, T. J. , Al-Hashem, A. A., Achterberg, E. P. , Carvalho, P. C., Catry, P., Matthiopoulos, J., Miller, J. A. O. and Wakefield, E. D. (2023) The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity. Science of The Total Environment, 897 . Art.Nr. 165309. DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309>. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 cc_by_nc_nd_4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess Article PeerReviewed 2023 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 2024-01-15T00:27:16Z Highlights • Oceanic nutrient supply from seabird guano is poorly constrained by field observations. • This was assessed for guano from caught-and-released North Atlantic seabirds. • Guano released nutrients and relieved in situ phytoplankton nutrient limitation. • Guano was modelled to potentially be a major nutrient supply term in summer. • Declining pelagic seabird populations will impact this function. Abstract Nutrients supplied via seabird guano increase primary production in some coastal ecosystems. A similar process may occur in the open ocean. To investigate this directly, we first measured bulk and leachable nutrient concentrations in guano sampled in the North Atlantic. We found that guano was strongly enriched in phosphorus, which was released as phosphate in solution. Nitrogen release was dominated by reduced forms (ammonium and urea) whilst release of nitrate was relatively low. A range of trace elements, including the micronutrient iron, were released. Using in-situ bioassays, we then showed that supply of fresh guano to ambient seawater increases phytoplankton biomass and photochemical efficiencies. Based on these results, modelled seabird distributions, and known defecation rates, we estimate that on annual scales guano is a minor source of nutrients for the surface North Atlantic. However, on shorter timescales in late spring/summer it could be much more important: Estimates of upper-level depositions of phosphorus by seabirds were three orders of magnitude higher than modelled aerosol deposition and comparable to diffusion from deeper waters. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Guano ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) Science of The Total Environment 897 165309 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
op_collection_id |
ftoceanrep |
language |
English |
description |
Highlights • Oceanic nutrient supply from seabird guano is poorly constrained by field observations. • This was assessed for guano from caught-and-released North Atlantic seabirds. • Guano released nutrients and relieved in situ phytoplankton nutrient limitation. • Guano was modelled to potentially be a major nutrient supply term in summer. • Declining pelagic seabird populations will impact this function. Abstract Nutrients supplied via seabird guano increase primary production in some coastal ecosystems. A similar process may occur in the open ocean. To investigate this directly, we first measured bulk and leachable nutrient concentrations in guano sampled in the North Atlantic. We found that guano was strongly enriched in phosphorus, which was released as phosphate in solution. Nitrogen release was dominated by reduced forms (ammonium and urea) whilst release of nitrate was relatively low. A range of trace elements, including the micronutrient iron, were released. Using in-situ bioassays, we then showed that supply of fresh guano to ambient seawater increases phytoplankton biomass and photochemical efficiencies. Based on these results, modelled seabird distributions, and known defecation rates, we estimate that on annual scales guano is a minor source of nutrients for the surface North Atlantic. However, on shorter timescales in late spring/summer it could be much more important: Estimates of upper-level depositions of phosphorus by seabirds were three orders of magnitude higher than modelled aerosol deposition and comparable to diffusion from deeper waters. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Browning, Thomas J. Al-Hashem, Ali A. Achterberg, Eric Pieter Carvalho, Paloma C. Catry, Paulo Matthiopoulos, Jason Miller, Julie A.O. Wakefield, Ewan D. |
spellingShingle |
Browning, Thomas J. Al-Hashem, Ali A. Achterberg, Eric Pieter Carvalho, Paloma C. Catry, Paulo Matthiopoulos, Jason Miller, Julie A.O. Wakefield, Ewan D. The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity |
author_facet |
Browning, Thomas J. Al-Hashem, Ali A. Achterberg, Eric Pieter Carvalho, Paloma C. Catry, Paulo Matthiopoulos, Jason Miller, Julie A.O. Wakefield, Ewan D. |
author_sort |
Browning, Thomas J. |
title |
The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity |
title_short |
The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity |
title_full |
The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity |
title_fullStr |
The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity |
title_full_unstemmed |
The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity |
title_sort |
role of seabird guano in maintaining north atlantic summertime productivity |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/1/revised%20manuscript%20with%20no%20changes%20marked.docx https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/2/Browning%20et%20al.%202023%20Sci%20Tot%20Env.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/9/Browning_Supplementary_Material.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) |
geographic |
Guano |
geographic_facet |
Guano |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/1/revised%20manuscript%20with%20no%20changes%20marked.docx https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/2/Browning%20et%20al.%202023%20Sci%20Tot%20Env.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58922/9/Browning_Supplementary_Material.pdf Browning, T. J. , Al-Hashem, A. A., Achterberg, E. P. , Carvalho, P. C., Catry, P., Matthiopoulos, J., Miller, J. A. O. and Wakefield, E. D. (2023) The role of seabird guano in maintaining North Atlantic summertime productivity. Science of The Total Environment, 897 . Art.Nr. 165309. DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309>. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 |
op_rights |
cc_by_nc_nd_4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165309 |
container_title |
Science of The Total Environment |
container_volume |
897 |
container_start_page |
165309 |
_version_ |
1790603574693068800 |