Polar ocean ecosystems in a changing world

Smetacek, Victor; Nicol, Stephen

doi:10.1038/nature04161

Cited by 430 publications

(317 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

310

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Ironically, these humaninduced changes to the atmosphere have mitigated the southward penetration of global warming around Antarctica (Fyfe et al, 1999;Marshall, 2003;Turner et al, 2009;Swart and Fyfe, 2012). However, the continuing release of greenhouse gasses and the recovery of the ozone hole will inevitably cause future climate-induced warming and ecosystem change in Antarctic waters (Smetacek and Nicol, 2005;Boyd et al, 2008;Constable et al, 2014). Warming temperatures will unavoidably result in a decline in sea ice duration, extent and thickness (Constable et al, 2014 and refs therein).…”

Section: Climate-driven Changes To the Southern Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southern Ocean phytoplankton physiology in a changing climate

Petrou

Kranz

Trimborn

et al. 2016

Journal of Plant Physiology

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Please cite this article in press as: Petrou, K., et al., Southern Ocean phytoplankton physiology in a changing climate. J Plant Physiol (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2016.05.004 ARTICLE IN PRESS a b s t r a c tThe Southern Ocean (SO) is a major sink for anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), potentially harbouring even greater potential for additional sequestration of CO 2 through enhanced phytoplankton productivity. In the SO, primary productivity is primarily driven by bottom up processes (physical and chemical conditions) which are spatially and temporally heterogeneous. Due to a paucity of trace metals (such as iron) and high variability in light, much of the SO is characterised by an ecological paradox of high macronutrient concentrations yet uncharacteristically low chlorophyll concentrations. It is expected that with increased anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and the coincident warming, the major physical and chemical process that govern the SO will alter, influencing the biological capacity and functioning of the ecosystem. This review focuses on the SO primary producers and the bottom up processes that underpin their health and productivity. It looks at the major physico-chemical drivers of change in the SO, and based on current physiological knowledge, explores how these changes will likely manifest in phytoplankton, specifically, what are the physiological changes and floristic shifts that are likely to ensue and how this may translate into changes in the carbon sink capacity, net primary productivity and functionality of the SO.

show abstract

Section: Climate-driven Changes To the Southern Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southern Ocean phytoplankton physiology in a changing climate

Petrou

Kranz

Trimborn

et al. 2016

Journal of Plant Physiology

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Either it will be grazed and recycled in the upper water masses or it may sink to deeper waters (Wassmann 1998). Recent research has also emphasized the importance of nanoplankton and picoplankton (Lovejoy et al 2007;Sakshaug et al 2009;Rokkan Iversen and Seuthe 2010) and showed that the concept of short, low-diversity polar food chains is overly simplistic (Smetacek and Nicol 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spring bloom dynamics in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard: nutrients, phytoplankton, protozoans and primary production

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The marine ecosystem in Kongsfjorden (79°N), a glacial fjord in Svalbard, is to a large extent well known with regard to hydrography, mesozooplankton and higher trophic levels. Research on primary production and lower trophic levels is still scare and especially investigations from winter and spring periods. The spring bloom dynamics in Kongsfjorden were investigated in 2002. The development in nutrient conditions, phytoplankton, protozoans and primary production were followed from 15 April until 22 May. The winter/ spring in 2002 was categorized as a cold year with sea ice cover and water masses dominated by local winter-cooled water. The spring bloom started around 18 April and lasted until the middle of May. The bloom probably peaked in late April, but break-up of sea ice made it impossible to sample frequently in this period. Diatoms dominated the phytoplankton assemblage. We estimated the total primary production during the spring bloom in 2002 to range 27-35 g C m -2 . There was a mismatch situation between the mesozooplankton and the phytoplankton spring bloom in 2002.

show abstract

“…The reduction in Arctic sea ice in response to climate change and ocean warming is well documented ), but its effects on biological processes are hard to predict (ACIA 2004;Smetacek and Nicol 2005). Wassmann et al (2011) highlighted that climate change has already resulted in clearly discernable changes in marine Arctic ecosystems, but the number of well-documented changes in planktonic and benthic systems was surprisingly low.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spring-to-summer changes and regional variability of benthic processes in the western Canadian Arctic

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seasonal dynamics in the activity of Arctic shelf benthos have been the subject of few local studies, and the pronounced among-site variability characterizing their results makes it difficult to upscale and generalize their conclusions. In a regional study encompassing five sites at 100-595 m water depth in the southeastern Beaufort Sea, we found that total pigment concentrations in surficial sediments, used as proxies of general food supply to the benthos, rose significantly after the transition from ice-covered conditions in spring (March-June 2008) to open-water conditions in summer (June-August 2008), whereas sediment Chl a concentrations, typical markers of fresh food input, did not. Macrobenthic biomass (including agglutinated foraminifera [500 lm) varied significantly among sites (1.2-6.4 g C m -2 in spring, 1.1-12.6 g C m -2 in summer), whereas a general spring-to-summer increase was not detected. Benthic carbon remineralisation also ranged significantly among sites (11.9-33.2 mg C m -2 day -1 in spring, 11.6-44.4 mg C m -2 day -1 in summer) and did in addition exhibit a general significant increase from spring-to-summer. Multiple regression analysis suggests that in both spring and summer, sediment Chl a concentration is the prime determinant of benthic carbon remineralisation, but other factors have a significant secondary influence, such as foraminiferan biomass (negative in both seasons), water depth (in spring) and infaunal biomass (in summer). Our findings indicate the importance of the combined and dynamic effects of food supply and benthic community patterns on the carbon remineralisation of the polar shelf benthos in seasonally ice-covered seas.

show abstract

Polar ocean ecosystems in a changing world

Cited by 430 publications

References 50 publications

Southern Ocean phytoplankton physiology in a changing climate

Southern Ocean phytoplankton physiology in a changing climate

Spring bloom dynamics in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard: nutrients, phytoplankton, protozoans and primary production

Spring-to-summer changes and regional variability of benthic processes in the western Canadian Arctic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About