In:
Communications Biology, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 4, No. 1 ( 2021-11-03)
Abstract:
Arctic Ocean sea ice cover is shrinking due to warming. Long-term sediment trap data shows higher export efficiency of particulate organic carbon in regions with seasonal sea ice compared to regions without sea ice. To investigate this sea-ice enhanced export, we compared how different early summer phytoplankton communities in seasonally ice-free and ice-covered regions of the Fram Strait affect carbon export and vertical dispersal of microbes. In situ collected aggregates revealed two-fold higher carbon export of diatom-rich aggregates in ice-covered regions, compared to Phaeocystis aggregates in the ice-free region. Using microbial source tracking, we found that ice-covered regions were also associated with more surface-born microbial clades exported to the deep sea. Taken together, our results showed that ice-covered regions are responsible for high export efficiency and provide strong vertical microbial connectivity. Therefore, continuous sea-ice loss may decrease the vertical export efficiency, and thus the pelagic-benthic coupling, with potential repercussions for Arctic deep-sea ecosystems.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2399-3642
DOI:
10.1038/s42003-021-02776-w
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2919698-X
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