Retention efficiency of sub-micrometer particles by the pharyngeal filter of the pelagic tunicate Oikopleura vanhoeffeni

Deibel, Don; Sh, Lee

doi:10.3354/meps081025

Cited by 67 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Also absent are the impacts of relatively rare large salps. Pelagic tunicates generally have higher specific rates of water clearance and they feed closer to the base of the food web than copepods (e.g., Alldredge 1981;Diebel and Lee 1992;Madin et al 1997). Consequently, their impacts would need to be considered to arrive at a full accounting of mesozooplankton grazing at the study site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesozooplankton influences on the microbial food web: Direct and indirect trophic interactions in the oligotrophic open ocean

Calbet

Landry

1999

Limnology & Oceanography

223

150

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The phytoplankton in warm oligotrophic regions of the open oceans is dominated by Ͻ2-m cells too small for efficient direct consumption by mesozooplankton. However, these primary producers are hypothetically linked to higher trophic levels via the cascading impacts of mesozooplankton grazing on intermediate consumers. To assess the magnitudes of these indirect trophic linkages, grazing experiments, involving different concentration treatments of the mixed mesozooplankton community, were performed during cruises in the subtropical North Pacific at station ALOHA. Mesozooplankton fed on a diverse assemblage of microzooplankton and nanoheterotrophs Ͼ5 m, and their predation indirectly enhanced net growth rates of phytoplankton and 2-5-m heterotrophs. Increasing the concentration of mesozooplankton also enhanced growth rates of heterotrophic bacteria, but this was more likely the result of organic enrichment than trophic transfer. Scaled to their natural abundance, the indirect grazing impacts of mesozooplankton on lower trophic levels are small, accounting for Ͻ0.005 d Ϫ1 of the growth rates of each prey category examined. Thus, the larger consumers appear to exert little net influence on the dynamics at the base of the food web. In contrast, size-fraction manipulations of consumers between 2 and 20 m (i.e., the nanozooplankton) elicited strong responses among bacterial populations indicative of tightly coupled predatory chain of at least two steps. Given the present results, detailed studies of the interactions among pico-and nanoplankton appear to be the most profitable avenue for improving our understanding of community structure and function in this region and for acquiring useful data for developing and validating ecosystem models of the open oceans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesozooplankton influences on the microbial food web: Direct and indirect trophic interactions in the oligotrophic open ocean

Calbet

Landry

1999

Limnology & Oceanography

223

150

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“…Among copepods, the genera more abundant in the MS are known to exploit a large variety of food resources, including fecal pellets (e.g., Oithona, González and Smetacek, 1994;Svensen and Nejstgaard, 2003) and marine snow (e.g., oncaeids, Alldredge, 1976;Ohtsuka et al, 1993). Appendicularians, which are capable to feeding on pico-and small nanoplankton (Deibel and Lee, 1992), constitute a bypass from the lower trophic levels to fishes (Deibel and Lee, 1992), contributing to a more efficient food web like the one described in the oligotrophic North Aegean Sea (SiokouFrangou et al, 2002).…”

Section: Planktonic Food Webs In the Mediterranean Epipelagosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plankton in the open Mediterranean Sea: a review

et al. 2010

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Abstract. We present an overview of the plankton studies conducted during the last 25 years in the epipelagic offshore waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This quasi-enclosed sea is characterized by a rich and complex physical dynamics with distinctive traits, especially in regard to the thermohaline circulation. Recent investigations have basically confirmed the long-recognised oligotrophic nature of this sea, which increases along both the west-east and the north-south directions. Nutrient availability is low, especially for phosphorous (N:P up to 60), though this limitation may be buffered by inputs from highly populated coasts and from the atmosphere. Phytoplankton biomass, as chl a, generally displays low values (less than 0.2 µg chl a l −1 ) over large areas, with a modest late winter increase. A large bloom (up to 3 µg l −1 ) is observed throughout the late winter and spring exclusively in the NW area. Relatively high biomass values are recorded in fronts and cyclonic gyres. A deep chlorophyll maximum is a permanent feature for the whole basin, except during the late winter mixing. It is found at increasingly greater depths ranging from 30 m in the Alboran Sea to 120 m in the easternmost Levantine basin. Primary production reveals a west-east decreasing trend and ranges between 59 and 150 g C m −2 y −1 (in situ measurements). Overall, the basin is largely dominated by small autotrophs, microheterotrophs and egg-carrying copepod species. The microorganisms (phytoplankton, viruses, bacteria, flagellates and ciliates) and zooplankton components reveal a considerable diversity and

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“…Thus, appendicularian houses together with their faecal pellets may constitute an important component of marine snow (Alldredge & Gotschalk 1990, Hansen et al 1996. Furthermore, due to the high efficiency with which appendicularians ingest nanoplankton and picoplankton (King et al 1980, Deibel 1988, Deibel & Lee 1992, Acuña et al 1996, they constitute a pathway through which small cells that otherwise do not sink may be transported out of the euphotic zone. Consequently, when appendicularians are abundant, small phytoplankton cells may contribute much more to the vertical flux than when the community is dominated by copepods (Urban et al 1992, Hansen et al 1996.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of copepods versus appendicularians in vertical carbon fluxes in a Swedish fjord

Vargas¹,

Tönnesson²,

Sell³

et al. 2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We examined and quantified the contributions of copepods and appendicularians to the vertical flux of carbon during autumn and spring in Gullmar Fjord (west coast of Sweden). Faecal pellet-production rate was determined for major copepod and appendicularian species. In addition, house-production rates were estimated for the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica. Vertical flux of pigments, faecal carbon and appendicularian houses were measured using short-term (24 h) deployments of sediment traps at 2 depths (15 and 30 m). Copepods dominated the community biomass in both spring and autumn and their pellets dominated the faecal carbon flux. O. dioica houses with attached detritus were an important component of the biogenic carbon flux in October (15.3 mg C m -2 d -1), equalling the contribution from copepods at 15 m and 50% of the flux at 30 m. At that time, we observed a loss rate of 70% d -1 of the houses produced in the water column. In the spring, although Fritillaria borealis dominated the appendicularians, its houses did not appear to contribute to the biogenic flux. Our results suggest that oikopleurids and fritillariids may not operate equivalently in biogeochemical cycles. Because of the significant contribution of appendicularians to carbon fluxes, they should be incorporated in future flow models of coastal oceans KEY WORDS: Carbon flux · Appendicularians · Copepods · Faecal pellet production · Marine snow Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 241: [125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138] 2002 extruded in short time intervals as faecal pellets (López-Urrutia & Acuña 1999). Some of these faecal pellets, together with uneaten particles, eventually clog the house, which is then abandoned and replaced by a new house, approximately 4 to 6 times per day (Deibel 1988, Alldredge 1992, Hansen et al. 1996, Sato et al. 2001. Thus, appendicularian houses together with their faecal pellets may constitute an important component of marine snow (Alldredge & Gotschalk 1990, Hansen et al. 1996. Furthermore, due to the high efficiency with which appendicularians ingest nanoplankton and picoplankton (King et al. 1980, Deibel 1988, Deibel & Lee 1992, Acuña et al. 1996, they constitute a pathway through which small cells that otherwise do not sink may be transported out of the euphotic zone. Consequently, when appendicularians are abundant, small phytoplankton cells may contribute much more to the vertical flux than when the community is dominated by copepods (Urban et al. 1992, Hansen et al. 1996.Oikopleura and Fritillaria species are abundant pelagic tunicates in coastal waters (e.g. Acuña et al. 1995, Gorsky et al. 2000. On the western Norwegian coast, O. dioica is one of the most widely distributed species (Gorsky et al. 2000). In the Kattegat, appendicularians also represent an important component of the zooplankton community during the autumn and spring blooms (Nielsen & Hansen 1999). The abundance of copepods in these bo...

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Retention efficiency of sub-micrometer particles by the pharyngeal filter of the pelagic tunicate Oikopleura vanhoeffeni

Cited by 67 publications

References 16 publications

Mesozooplankton influences on the microbial food web: Direct and indirect trophic interactions in the oligotrophic open ocean

Mesozooplankton influences on the microbial food web: Direct and indirect trophic interactions in the oligotrophic open ocean

Plankton in the open Mediterranean Sea: a review

Importance of copepods versus appendicularians in vertical carbon fluxes in a Swedish fjord

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