The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean
Surface ocean productivity mediates the transfer of carbon to the deep ocean and in the process regulates atmospheric CO 2 levels. A common axiom in oceanography is that large phytoplankton contribute disproportionally to the transfer of carbon to the deep ocean because of their greater ability to e...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004936 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106056 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:106056 2023-05-15T14:03:26+02:00 The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean Cassar, N Wright, SW Thomson, PG Trull, TW Westwood, KJ de Salas, M Davidson, A Pearce, I Davies, DM Matear, RJ 2015 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004936 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106056 en eng Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106056/1/Cassar_et_al-2015-Global_Biogeochemical_Cycles.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004936 Cassar, N and Wright, SW and Thomson, PG and Trull, TW and Westwood, KJ and de Salas, M and Davidson, A and Pearce, I and Davies, DM and Matear, RJ, The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 29, (4) pp. 446-462. ISSN 0886-6236 (2015) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106056 Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2015 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004936 2019-12-13T22:07:13Z Surface ocean productivity mediates the transfer of carbon to the deep ocean and in the process regulates atmospheric CO 2 levels. A common axiom in oceanography is that large phytoplankton contribute disproportionally to the transfer of carbon to the deep ocean because of their greater ability to escape grazing pressure, build biomass, and sink. In the present study, we assessed the relationship of net community production to phytoplankton assemblages and plankton size distribution in the Sub-Antarctic Zone and northern reaches of the Polar Frontal Zone in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean. We reanalyzed and synthesized previously published estimates of O 2 /Ar net community oxygen production (NCP) and triple-O 2 isotopes gross primary oxygen production (GPP) along with microscopic and pigment analyses of the microbial community. Overall, we found that the axiom that large phytoplankton drive carbon export was not supported in this region. Mixed-layer-depth-integrated NCP was correlated to particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration in the mixed layer. While lower NCP/GPP and NCP/POC values were generally associated with communities dominated by smaller plankton size (as would be expected), these communities did not preclude high values for both properties. Vigorous NCP in some regions occurred in the virtual absence of large phytoplankton (and specifically diatoms) and in communities dominated by nanoplankton and picoplankton. We also observed a positive correlation between NCP and the proportion of the phytoplankton community grazed by microheterotrophs, supporting the mediating role of grazers in carbon export. The novel combination of techniques allowed us to determine how NCP relates to upper ocean ecosystem characteristics and may lead to improved models of carbon export. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Southern Ocean Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29 4 446 462 |
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Open Polar |
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eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography Cassar, N Wright, SW Thomson, PG Trull, TW Westwood, KJ de Salas, M Davidson, A Pearce, I Davies, DM Matear, RJ The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Oceanography Chemical Oceanography |
description |
Surface ocean productivity mediates the transfer of carbon to the deep ocean and in the process regulates atmospheric CO 2 levels. A common axiom in oceanography is that large phytoplankton contribute disproportionally to the transfer of carbon to the deep ocean because of their greater ability to escape grazing pressure, build biomass, and sink. In the present study, we assessed the relationship of net community production to phytoplankton assemblages and plankton size distribution in the Sub-Antarctic Zone and northern reaches of the Polar Frontal Zone in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean. We reanalyzed and synthesized previously published estimates of O 2 /Ar net community oxygen production (NCP) and triple-O 2 isotopes gross primary oxygen production (GPP) along with microscopic and pigment analyses of the microbial community. Overall, we found that the axiom that large phytoplankton drive carbon export was not supported in this region. Mixed-layer-depth-integrated NCP was correlated to particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration in the mixed layer. While lower NCP/GPP and NCP/POC values were generally associated with communities dominated by smaller plankton size (as would be expected), these communities did not preclude high values for both properties. Vigorous NCP in some regions occurred in the virtual absence of large phytoplankton (and specifically diatoms) and in communities dominated by nanoplankton and picoplankton. We also observed a positive correlation between NCP and the proportion of the phytoplankton community grazed by microheterotrophs, supporting the mediating role of grazers in carbon export. The novel combination of techniques allowed us to determine how NCP relates to upper ocean ecosystem characteristics and may lead to improved models of carbon export. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cassar, N Wright, SW Thomson, PG Trull, TW Westwood, KJ de Salas, M Davidson, A Pearce, I Davies, DM Matear, RJ |
author_facet |
Cassar, N Wright, SW Thomson, PG Trull, TW Westwood, KJ de Salas, M Davidson, A Pearce, I Davies, DM Matear, RJ |
author_sort |
Cassar, N |
title |
The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean |
title_short |
The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean |
title_full |
The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the southern ocean |
publisher |
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004936 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106056 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106056/1/Cassar_et_al-2015-Global_Biogeochemical_Cycles.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004936 Cassar, N and Wright, SW and Thomson, PG and Trull, TW and Westwood, KJ and de Salas, M and Davidson, A and Pearce, I and Davies, DM and Matear, RJ, The relation of mixed-layer net community production to phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 29, (4) pp. 446-462. ISSN 0886-6236 (2015) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106056 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004936 |
container_title |
Global Biogeochemical Cycles |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
446 |
op_container_end_page |
462 |
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1766274079232360448 |