A trait-based modelling approach to planktonic foraminifera ecology

• Published in: Biogeosciences
• Main Authors: Grigoratou, M., Monteiro, F. M., Schmidt, D. N., Wilson, J. D., Ward, B. A., Ridgwell, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1983/fb0c8012-b3f6-4042-ac2c-644c29facf3a; https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/fb0c8012-b3f6-4042-ac2c-644c29facf3a; https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1469-2019; https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/355224730/Full_text_PDF_final_published_version_.pdf

Despite the important role of planktonic foraminifera in regulating the ocean carbonate production and their unrivalled value in reconstructing paleoenvironments, our knowledge on their ecology is limited. A variety of observational techniques such as plankton tows, sediment traps and experiments, have contributed to our understanding of foraminifera ecology. But, fundamental questions around costs and benefits of calcification, and the effect of nutrients, temperature and ecosystem structure on these organisms remain unanswered. To tackle these questions, we take a novel mechanistic approach to study planktonic foraminifera ecology based on trait theory. We develop a 0-D trait-based model to account for the biomass of prolocular (20 μm) and adult (160 μm) stages of non-spinose foraminifera species and investigate their potential interactions with phytoplankton and other zooplankton under different temperature and nutrient regimes. Building on the costs and benefits of calcification, we model two ecosystem structures to explore the effect of resource competition and temperature on planktonic foraminifera biomass. By constraining the model results with ocean biomass estimations of planktonic foraminifera, we estimate that the energetic cost of calcification could be about 25–50 % and 20–35 % for prolocular and adult stages respectively. Our result suggest that the shell provides protection among predation (e.g. pathogens protection) and that the invariably low standing biomass of planktonic foraminifera plays a key role in their survival from predation, along with their shell protection. Temperature appears to be an important factor in regulating foraminifera biomass in the early developmental stage, whereas resource competition is a key in controlling adults' biomass and feeding strategy.