Whale fall

Haag, Amanda Leigh

doi:10.1038/433566a

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…This process is termed the lipid pump and is significant in that it moves carbon to depth without depleting surface concentrations of potentially limiting nutrients over winter (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus). Rapid transport of carbon to the deep ocean/sea floor is also facilitated by the short phytoplankton-krill-whale food chain, where krill carbon is stored as biomass in baleen whales for decades, whose carcasses rapidly sink to the deep sea floor when they die 55 (Fig. 3).…”

Section: Krill and Biogeochemical Cyclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of Antarctic krill in biogeochemical cycles

et al. 2019

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Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are swarming, oceanic crustaceans, up to two inches long, and best known as prey for whales and penguinsbut they have another important role. With their large size, high biomass and daily vertical migrations they transport and transform essential nutrients, stimulate primary productivity and influence the carbon sink. Antarctic krill are also fished by the Southern Ocean's largest fishery. Yet how krill fishing impacts nutrient fertilisation and the carbon sink in the Southern Ocean is poorly understood. Our synthesis shows fishery management should consider the influential biogeochemical role of both adult and larval Antarctic krill. O cean biogeochemical cycles are paramount in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) levels and in governing the nutrients available for phytoplankton growth 1. As phytoplankton are essential in most marine food webs, biogeochemistry is also important in fuelling fishery production 2. The role of phytoplankton in atmospheric CO 2 drawdown and fish production has been the central focus of many biogeochemical studies (e.g., refs. 3,4). However, despite evidence of their potential importance, higher organisms (metazoa) such as zooplankton (e.g., copepods and salps), nekton (e.g., adult krill and fish), seabirds and mammals 5-12 , have received less attention concerning their roles in the global biogeochemical cycles. One of the main mechanisms by which metazoa can influence biogeochemical cycles is through the biological pump 1 (Fig. 1). The biological pump describes a suite of biological processes that ultimately sequester atmospheric CO 2 into the deep ocean on long timescales. During photosynthesis in the surface, ocean phytoplankton produce organic matter and a fraction (< 40 %) sinks to deeper waters 13. It is estimated that 5-12 Gt C is exported from the global surface ocean annually 14 , with herbivorous metazoa contributing to the biological pump by releasing fast-sinking faecal pellets, respiring carbon at depth originally assimilated in the surface ocean and by excreting nutrients near the surface promoting further phytoplankton

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Section: Krill and Biogeochemical Cyclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of Antarctic krill in biogeochemical cycles

et al. 2019

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“…The fall of large fishes and mammals (i.e. whales) to the sea floor also transports carbon to the deep sediments, or below the permanent thermocline in the open ocean, and the harvesting of these species reduces the carbon sink further (Haag, 2005 ; Mariani et al, 2020 ; Pershing et al, 2010 ). Other mechanisms by which fishing for any species could impact the carbon sink include the harvesting or by‐catch of fertilizing species such as krill (Schmidt et al, 2016 ), whales (Ratnarajah et al, 2014 ) or seabirds (Shatova et al, 2016 ), rerouting carbon through different trophic cycles, for example, through scavenging seabirds (Votier et al, 2004 ) and the release of discards (unwanted catch and offal) causing localized dead zones (areas with extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen that can cause mass mortality of most metazoan groups; Figure 3 ).…”

Section: Impacts Of Fishing On the Carbon Sinkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fall of large fishes and mammals (i.e. whales) to the sea floor also transports carbon to the deep sediments, or below the permanent thermocline in the open ocean, and the harvesting of these species reduces the carbon sink further (Haag, 2005;Mariani et al, 2020;Pershing et al, 2010). Other mechanisms by which fishing for any species could impact the carbon sink include the harvesting or by-catch of fertilizing species such as krill (Schmidt et al, 2016), whales (Ratnarajah et al, 2014) or seabirds (Shatova et al, 2016), rerouting carbon TA B L E 1 Carbon export and fishing activity by FAO Area.…”

Section: Impac Ts Of Fis Hing On the C Arbon S Inkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commercial fishery disturbance of the global ocean biological carbon sink

Cavan

Hill

2021

Global Change Biology

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Plankton drive a major sink of carbon across the global oceans. Dead plankton, their faeces and the faeces of plankton feeders, form a huge rain of carbon sinking to the seabed and deep ocean, reducing atmospheric CO2 levels and thus helping to regulate the climate. Any change in plankton communities, ecosystems or habitats will perturb this carbon sink, potentially increasing atmospheric CO2. Fishing is a major cause of ocean ecosystem disturbance affecting all trophic levels including plankton, but its potential impact on the carbon sink is unknown. As both fisheries and the carbon sink depend on plankton, there is spatial overlap of these fundamental ecosystem services. Here, we provide the first global maps of this spatial overlap. Using an upper quartile analysis, we show that 21% of the total upper ocean carbon sink (export) and 39% of fishing effort globally are concentrated in zones of intensive overlap, representing 9% of the ocean surface area. This overlap is particularly evident in the Northeast Atlantic suggesting this region should be prioritized in terms of research and conservation measures to preserve the high levels of sinking carbon. Small pelagic fish dominate catches here and globally, and their exploitation could reduce important faecal pellet carbon sinks and cause trophic cascades affecting plankton communities. There is an urgent need to recognize that, alongside climate change, fishing might be a critical influence on the ability of the ocean to sequester atmospheric CO2. Improved understanding of this influence, and how it will change with the climate, will be important for realizing a sustainable balance of the twin needs for productive fisheries and strong carbon sinks.

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“…Scavenging is an important ecosystem process whereby energy can be recycled in the food web by upper trophic levels – a fundamental response to sudden, dramatic increases in faunal abundance such as with GZ. In marine ecology, the more notable types of carrion falls are from whales and large fishes (Haag, ; Higgs et al ., ). These events provide major food sources for deep‐sea fauna, particularly for scavenging fishes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bloom or bust: synchrony in jellyfish abundance, fish consumption, benthic scavenger abundance, and environmental drivers across a continental shelf

Smith

Ford

Link

2016

Fisheries Oceanography

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Increases in gelatinous zooplankton (GZ) populations, their dominance of some ecosystems, their impacts to other taxa, and their questionable trophic value remain global concerns, but they are difficult to quantify. We compared trends in GZ abundance from direct sampling for the northeast U.S. continental shelf and tested their association with GZ consumption by spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias); the abundance of two benthic scavengers: Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) and grenadiers (Family: Macrouridae); and four environmental indices: Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and sea surface and bottom temperatures. Defined as scyphozoans, siphonophores, ctenophores, and salps, the abundance of GZ on the shelf has oscillated with blooms approximately every 10–15 yr. Conservative estimates of annual removal of GZ by spiny dogfish ranged from approximately 0.3–298 g individual−1 with spiny dogfish being the primary GZ feeder sampled on the shelf. The examination of three abundance series for GZ identified one shelf‐wide trend and strong relationships with 2‐yr lagged consumption and scavenger abundance (namely hagfish), and sea surface temperature. With multimodel inference, these covariates led to an optimal model of GZ abundance. Blooms of GZ abundance on this shelf were influenced by environmental change, provide surges of food for spiny dogfish, and may offer ‘food falls’ for scavenging fishes. The bioenergetic tradeoffs of consuming greater amounts of GZ compared to other major prey (e.g., fishes) remain unknown; however, these surges of food in the northwest Atlantic appear to be important for fishes, including support for benthic scavenger productivity.

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Whale fall

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

The importance of Antarctic krill in biogeochemical cycles

The importance of Antarctic krill in biogeochemical cycles

Commercial fishery disturbance of the global ocean biological carbon sink

Bloom or bust: synchrony in jellyfish abundance, fish consumption, benthic scavenger abundance, and environmental drivers across a continental shelf

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