Knowledge of air‐water gas transfer velocities and water residence times is necessary to study the fate of mangrove derived carbon exported into surrounding estuaries and ultimately to determine carbon balances in mangrove ecosystems. For the first time, the 3He/SF6 dual tracer technique, which has been proven to be a powerful tool to determine gas transfer velocities in the ocean, is applied to Shark River, an estuary situated in the largest contiguous mangrove forest in North America. The mean gas transfer velocity was 3.3 ± 0.2 cm h−1 during the experiment, with a water residence time of 16.5 ± 2.0 days. We propose a gas exchange parameterization that takes into account the major sources of turbulence in the estuary (i.e., bottom generated shear and wind stress).

International audienceWe measured the stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic composition of tissues of micronektonic organisms (fishes, squids, crustaceans and gelatinous organisms) collected in the Mozambique Channel during two scientific cruises in 2008 and 2009. The oceanic circulation in the Mozambique Channel is dominated by mesoscale cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies which play a key role in biological processes of less-productive deep-sea ecosystems. We investigated the potential impact of mesoscale features on the δ13C and δ15N values of 32 taxa of micronekton. Fishes, squids, crustaceans and gelatinous organisms encompassed a wide range of isotopic niches, with large over laps among species. Our results showed that mesoscale features did not really influence the isotopic signatures of the sampled organisms, although cyclonic eddies can occasionally impact the nitrogen signatures of micronekton. We show that δ13C values were intermediate between standard off shore and nearshore signatures, suggesting that pelagic production in the Mozambique Channel could be partly supported by the transport and export of inorganic and organic particles from the Mozambican coast toward the offshore area. Trophic levels calculated from δ15N values ranged from 2.6 to 4.2, showing that micronekton taxa can be tertiary consumers in the Mozambique Channel. Our findings evidenced clusters of micronektonic organisms according to their δ15N or δ13C isotopic signatures, but variations in stable isotope values reflect a complex set of embedded processes linked to physical mesoscale dynamics (rotational dynamics of eddies) and basic biology and ecology of micronektonic organisms (vertical habitat, migration pattern, dietary habits, body length) that are discussed with regard to the stable isotope method based on time-integrated assimilated food

The fraction of net primary production that is exported from the euphotic zone as sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) varies notably through time and from region to region. Phytoplankton containing biominerals, such as silicified diatoms have long been associated with high export fluxes. However, recent reviews point out that the magnitude of export is not controlled by diatoms alone, but determined by the whole plankton community structure. The combined effect of phytoplankton community composition and zooplankton abundance on export flux dynamics, were explored using a set of 12 large outdoor mesocosms. All mesocosms received a daily addition of minor amounts of nitrate and phosphate, while only 6 mesocosms received silicic acid (dSi). This resulted in a dominance of diatoms and dinoflagellate in the +Si mesocosms and a dominance of dinoflagellate in the −Si mesocosms. Simultaneously, half of the mesocosms had decreased mesozooplankton populations whereas the other half were supplemented with additional zooplankton. In all mesocosms, POC fluxes were positively correlated to Si/C ratios measured in the surface community and additions of dSi globally increased the export fluxes in all treatments highlighting the role of diatoms in C export. The presence of additional copepods resulted in higher standing stocks of POC, most probably through trophic cascades. However it only resulted in higher export fluxes for the −Si mesocosms. In the +Si with copepod addition (+Si +Cops) export was dominated by large diatoms with higher Si/C ratios in sinking material than in standing stocks. During non-bloom situations, the grazing activity of copepods decrease the export efficiency in diatom dominated systems by changing the structure of the phytoplankton community and/or preventing their aggregation. However, in flagellate-dominated system, the copepods increased phytoplankton growth, aggregation and fecal pellet production, with overall higher net export not always visible in term of export efficiency.