Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean
Biological vectors are important for redistribution of nutrients in many ecological systems. While availability of iron (Fe) to phytoplankton limits pelagic productivity in the Southern Ocean, biomagnification within marine food webs can lead to high concentrations of Fe in the diet of seabirds and...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10923 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/125207 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:125207 2023-05-15T13:49:03+02:00 Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean Wing, SR Jack, L Shatova, O Leichter, JJ Barr, D Frew, RD Gault-Ringold, M 2014 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10923 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/125207 en eng Inter-Research http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps10923 Wing, SR and Jack, L and Shatova, O and Leichter, JJ and Barr, D and Frew, RD and Gault-Ringold, M, Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 510 pp. 1-13. ISSN 0171-8630 (2014) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/125207 Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2014 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10923 2019-12-13T22:23:46Z Biological vectors are important for redistribution of nutrients in many ecological systems. While availability of iron (Fe) to phytoplankton limits pelagic productivity in the Southern Ocean, biomagnification within marine food webs can lead to high concentrations of Fe in the diet of seabirds and marine mammals. We investigated patterns in concentrations of the micronutrients Fe, Co, Zn and Mn, and the toxins Cd and As, in the guano of oceanic, coastal and predatory seabirds and in faeces of 2 species of marine mammals that congregate to breed in the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. We found that much of the variability in concentrations of Fe, Co, Zn and Mn among species could be explained by foraging behaviour and by trophic position. We observed concentrations ofFe to be 8 orders of magnitude higher in the guano of predators and coastal foragers than in the sub-Antarctic mixed layer. High concentrations of As and Cd were associated with organic matter sources from macroalgae. Analyses of the molar ratio Fe:Al indicated that Fe within food webs supporting seabirds has likely been extensively recycled from its lithogenic source. Patterns in Fe:N among species indicated that Fe is concentrated 2 to 4 orders of magnitude in the guano of seabirds compared to limiting conditions for phytoplankton growth in sub-Antarctic waters. These data highlight the potential role of seabirds and marine mammals in the redistribution of micronutrients in the Southern Ocean and their likely role as key nutrient vectors in the ecosystem, particularly around the sub-Antarctic islands during the breeding season. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Auckland Islands Southern Ocean eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Guano ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) Southern Ocean Marine Ecology Progress Series 510 1 13 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) Wing, SR Jack, L Shatova, O Leichter, JJ Barr, D Frew, RD Gault-Ringold, M Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) |
description |
Biological vectors are important for redistribution of nutrients in many ecological systems. While availability of iron (Fe) to phytoplankton limits pelagic productivity in the Southern Ocean, biomagnification within marine food webs can lead to high concentrations of Fe in the diet of seabirds and marine mammals. We investigated patterns in concentrations of the micronutrients Fe, Co, Zn and Mn, and the toxins Cd and As, in the guano of oceanic, coastal and predatory seabirds and in faeces of 2 species of marine mammals that congregate to breed in the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. We found that much of the variability in concentrations of Fe, Co, Zn and Mn among species could be explained by foraging behaviour and by trophic position. We observed concentrations ofFe to be 8 orders of magnitude higher in the guano of predators and coastal foragers than in the sub-Antarctic mixed layer. High concentrations of As and Cd were associated with organic matter sources from macroalgae. Analyses of the molar ratio Fe:Al indicated that Fe within food webs supporting seabirds has likely been extensively recycled from its lithogenic source. Patterns in Fe:N among species indicated that Fe is concentrated 2 to 4 orders of magnitude in the guano of seabirds compared to limiting conditions for phytoplankton growth in sub-Antarctic waters. These data highlight the potential role of seabirds and marine mammals in the redistribution of micronutrients in the Southern Ocean and their likely role as key nutrient vectors in the ecosystem, particularly around the sub-Antarctic islands during the breeding season. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wing, SR Jack, L Shatova, O Leichter, JJ Barr, D Frew, RD Gault-Ringold, M |
author_facet |
Wing, SR Jack, L Shatova, O Leichter, JJ Barr, D Frew, RD Gault-Ringold, M |
author_sort |
Wing, SR |
title |
Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean |
title_short |
Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean |
title_full |
Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the southern ocean |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10923 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/125207 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) |
geographic |
Antarctic Guano Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Guano Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Auckland Islands Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Auckland Islands Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps10923 Wing, SR and Jack, L and Shatova, O and Leichter, JJ and Barr, D and Frew, RD and Gault-Ringold, M, Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 510 pp. 1-13. ISSN 0171-8630 (2014) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/125207 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10923 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
510 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
13 |
_version_ |
1766250748267462656 |