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Continuous moulting by Antarctic krill drives major pulses of carbon export in the north Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean

Author

Listed:
  • C. Manno

    (Natural Environment Research Council)

  • S. Fielding

    (Natural Environment Research Council)

  • G. Stowasser

    (Natural Environment Research Council)

  • E. J. Murphy

    (Natural Environment Research Council)

  • S. E. Thorpe

    (Natural Environment Research Council)

  • G. A. Tarling

    (Natural Environment Research Council)

Abstract

Antarctic krill play an important role in biogeochemical cycles and can potentially generate high-particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes to the deep ocean. They also have an unusual trait of moulting continuously throughout their life-cycle. We determine the krill seasonal contribution to POC flux in terms of faecal pellets (FP), exuviae and carcasses from sediment trap samples collected in the Southern Ocean. We found that krill moulting generated an exuviae flux of similar order to that of FP, together accounting for 87% of an annual POC flux (22.8 g m−2 y−1). Using an inverse modelling approach, we determined the krill population size necessary to generate this flux peaked at 261 g m−2. This study shows the important role of krill exuviae as a vector for POC flux. Since krill moulting cycle depends on temperature, our results highlight the sensitivity of POC flux to rapid regional environmental change.

Suggested Citation

  • C. Manno & S. Fielding & G. Stowasser & E. J. Murphy & S. E. Thorpe & G. A. Tarling, 2020. "Continuous moulting by Antarctic krill drives major pulses of carbon export in the north Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-19956-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19956-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Wen-Xin Jiang & Ping-Yi Li & Xiu-Lan Chen & Yi-Shuo Zhang & Jing-Ping Wang & Yan-Jun Wang & Qi Sheng & Zhong-Zhi Sun & Qi-Long Qin & Xue-Bing Ren & Peng Wang & Xiao-Yan Song & Yin Chen & Yu-Zhong Zhan, 2022. "A pathway for chitin oxidation in marine bacteria," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Nora-Charlotte Pauli & Clara M. Flintrop & Christian Konrad & Evgeny A. Pakhomov & Steffen Swoboda & Florian Koch & Xin-Liang Wang & Ji-Chang Zhang & Andrew S. Brierley & Matteo Bernasconi & Bettina M, 2021. "Krill and salp faecal pellets contribute equally to the carbon flux at the Antarctic Peninsula," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Moira Décima & Michael R. Stukel & Scott D. Nodder & Andrés Gutiérrez-Rodríguez & Karen E. Selph & Adriana Lopes dos Santos & Karl Safi & Thomas B. Kelly & Fenella Deans & Sergio E. Morales & Federico, 2023. "Salp blooms drive strong increases in passive carbon export in the Southern Ocean," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.

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