IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v14y2023i1d10.1038_s41467-023-37132-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The contribution of penguin guano to the Southern Ocean iron pool

Author

Listed:
  • Oleg Belyaev

    (Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC))

  • Erica Sparaventi

    (Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC))

  • Gabriel Navarro

    (Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC))

  • Araceli Rodríguez-Romero

    (University of Cádiz)

  • Antonio Tovar-Sánchez

    (Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC))

Abstract

Iron plays a crucial role in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll Southern Ocean regions, promoting phytoplankton growth and enhancing atmospheric carbon sequestration. In this area, iron-rich Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and baleen whale species, which are among their main predators, play a large role in the recycling of iron. However, penguins have received limited attention despite their representing the largest seabird biomass in the southern polar region. Here, we use breeding site guano volumes estimated from drone images, deep learning-powered penguin census, and guano chemical composition to assess the iron export to the Antarctic waters from one of the most abundant penguin species, the Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus). Our results show that these seabirds are a relevant contributor to the iron remobilization pool in the Southern Ocean. With an average guano concentration of 3 mg iron g−1, we estimate that the Chinstrap penguin population is recycling 521 tonnes iron yr−1, representing the current iron contribution half of the amount these penguins were able to recycle four decades ago, as they have declined by more than 50% since then.

Suggested Citation

  • Oleg Belyaev & Erica Sparaventi & Gabriel Navarro & Araceli Rodríguez-Romero & Antonio Tovar-Sánchez, 2023. "The contribution of penguin guano to the Southern Ocean iron pool," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-37132-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37132-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37132-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-023-37132-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ratnarajah, Lavenia & Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica & Marzloff, Martin P. & Lannuzel, Delphine & Meiners, Klaus M. & Chever, Fanny & Nicol, Stephen & Bowie, Andrew R., 2016. "A preliminary model of iron fertilisation by baleen whales and Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean: Sensitivity of primary productivity estimates to parameter uncertainty," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 320(C), pages 203-212.
    2. Mathieu Ardyna & Léo Lacour & Sara Sergi & Francesco d’Ovidio & Jean-Baptiste Sallée & Mathieu Rembauville & Stéphane Blain & Alessandro Tagliabue & Reiner Schlitzer & Catherine Jeandel & Kevin Robert, 2019. "Hydrothermal vents trigger massive phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Matthew S. Savoca & Max F. Czapanskiy & Shirel R. Kahane-Rapport & William T. Gough & James A. Fahlbusch & K. C. Bierlich & Paolo S. Segre & Jacopo Clemente & Gwenith S. Penry & David N. Wiley & John , 2021. "Baleen whale prey consumption based on high-resolution foraging measurements," Nature, Nature, vol. 599(7883), pages 85-90, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lola Gilbert & Tiphaine Jeanniard-du-Dot & Matthieu Authier & Tiphaine Chouvelon & Jérôme Spitz, 2023. "Composition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. S. R. Kahane-Rapport & M. F. Czapanskiy & J. A. Fahlbusch & A. S. Friedlaender & J. Calambokidis & E. L. Hazen & J. A. Goldbogen & M. S. Savoca, 2022. "Field measurements reveal exposure risk to microplastic ingestion by filter-feeding megafauna," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Sebastien Moreau & Tore Hattermann & Laura Steur & Hanna M. Kauko & Heidi Ahonen & Murat Ardelan & Philipp Assmy & Melissa Chierici & Sebastien Descamps & Tilman Dinter & Tone Falkenhaug & Agneta Fran, 2023. "Wind-driven upwelling of iron sustains dense blooms and food webs in the eastern Weddell Gyre," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Goedegebuure, Merel & Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica & Corney, Stuart P. & Hindell, Mark A. & Constable, Andrew J., 2017. "Beyond big fish: The case for more detailed representations of top predators in marine ecosystem models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 359(C), pages 182-192.
    5. Matthew S. Savoca & Mehr Kumar & Zephyr Sylvester & Max F. Czapanskiy & Bettina Meyer & Jeremy A. Goldbogen & Cassandra M. Brooks, 2024. "Whale recovery and the emerging human-wildlife conflict over Antarctic krill," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-37132-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.