Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review

Deep-sea benthic ecosystems are sustained largely by organic matter settling from the euphotic zone. These fluxes usually have a more or less well-defined seasonal component, often with two peaks, one in spring/early summer, the other later in the year. Long time-series datasets suggest that inter-a...

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Main Author: Gooday, A.J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/40797/
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spelling ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:40797 2023-07-30T04:05:38+02:00 Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review Gooday, A.J. 2002 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/40797/ unknown Gooday, A.J. (2002) Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review. Journal of Oceanography, 58 (2), 305-332. (doi:10.1023/A:1015865826379 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1015865826379>). Article PeerReviewed 2002 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015865826379 2023-07-09T20:48:45Z Deep-sea benthic ecosystems are sustained largely by organic matter settling from the euphotic zone. These fluxes usually have a more or less well-defined seasonal component, often with two peaks, one in spring/early summer, the other later in the year. Long time-series datasets suggest that inter-annual variability in the intensity, timing and composition of flux maxima is normal. The settling material may form a deposit of phytodetritus on the deep-seafloor. These deposits, which are most common in temperate and high latitude regions, particularly the North Atlantic, evoke a response by the benthic biota. Much of our knowledge of these responses comes from a few time-series programmes, which suggest that the nature of the response varies in different oceanographic settings. In particular, there are contrasts between seasonal processes in oligotrophic, central oceanic areas and those along eutrophic continental margins. In the former, it is mainly small organisms (bacteria and protozoans) that respond to pulsed inputs. Initial responses are biochemical (e.g. secretion of bacterial exoenzymes) and any biomass increases are time lagged. Increased metabolic activity of small organisms probably leads to seasonal fluctuations in sediment community oxygen consumption, reported mainly in the North Pacific. Metazoan meiofauna are generally less responsive than protozoans (foraminifera), although seasonal increases in abundance and body size have been reported. Measurable population responses by macrofauna and megafauna are less common and confined largely to continental margins. In addition, seasonally synchronised reproduction and larval settlement occur in some larger animals, again mainly in continental margin settings. Although seasonal benthic responses to pulsed food inputs are apparently widespread on the ocean floor, they are not ubiquitous. Most deep-sea species are not seasonal breeders and there are probably large areas, particularly at abyssal depths, where biological process rates are fairly uniform over ... Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Pacific
institution Open Polar
collection University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton
op_collection_id ftsouthampton
language unknown
description Deep-sea benthic ecosystems are sustained largely by organic matter settling from the euphotic zone. These fluxes usually have a more or less well-defined seasonal component, often with two peaks, one in spring/early summer, the other later in the year. Long time-series datasets suggest that inter-annual variability in the intensity, timing and composition of flux maxima is normal. The settling material may form a deposit of phytodetritus on the deep-seafloor. These deposits, which are most common in temperate and high latitude regions, particularly the North Atlantic, evoke a response by the benthic biota. Much of our knowledge of these responses comes from a few time-series programmes, which suggest that the nature of the response varies in different oceanographic settings. In particular, there are contrasts between seasonal processes in oligotrophic, central oceanic areas and those along eutrophic continental margins. In the former, it is mainly small organisms (bacteria and protozoans) that respond to pulsed inputs. Initial responses are biochemical (e.g. secretion of bacterial exoenzymes) and any biomass increases are time lagged. Increased metabolic activity of small organisms probably leads to seasonal fluctuations in sediment community oxygen consumption, reported mainly in the North Pacific. Metazoan meiofauna are generally less responsive than protozoans (foraminifera), although seasonal increases in abundance and body size have been reported. Measurable population responses by macrofauna and megafauna are less common and confined largely to continental margins. In addition, seasonally synchronised reproduction and larval settlement occur in some larger animals, again mainly in continental margin settings. Although seasonal benthic responses to pulsed food inputs are apparently widespread on the ocean floor, they are not ubiquitous. Most deep-sea species are not seasonal breeders and there are probably large areas, particularly at abyssal depths, where biological process rates are fairly uniform over ...
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Gooday, A.J.
spellingShingle Gooday, A.J.
Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review
author_facet Gooday, A.J.
author_sort Gooday, A.J.
title Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review
title_short Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review
title_full Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review
title_fullStr Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review
title_full_unstemmed Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review
title_sort biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review
publishDate 2002
url https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/40797/
geographic Pacific
geographic_facet Pacific
genre North Atlantic
genre_facet North Atlantic
op_relation Gooday, A.J. (2002) Biological responses to seasonally varying fluxes of organic matter to the ocean floor: a review. Journal of Oceanography, 58 (2), 305-332. (doi:10.1023/A:1015865826379 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1015865826379>).
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015865826379
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