Archive for vertical migration

Tiny parasites, big impact: Species networks and carbon recycling in an oligotrophic ocean

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, March 12th, 2024 

Parasites are everywhere in the ocean. Including the microbial realm where a diverse, widespread group of protist parasites (Syndiniales) infect and kill a range of hosts, such as dinoflagellates, radiolarians, and even larger zooplankton. A complete Syndiniales infection cycle is only 2-3 days. First, the parasite is a free-living spore. Once inside a host, the parasite consumes the host’s carbon and becomes a larger multicellular organism (a trophont) eventually causing the host to burst open and release hundreds of new spores.

Like viruses, parasite lysis is expected to reroute organic carbon to the microbial loop, potentially decreasing the amount of carbon available for export to the deep sea. Yet, the role of Syndiniales in carbon cycling has been hard to define, as depth-specific infection dynamics and links to carbon export remain poorly understood.

Parasites are everywhere in the ocean. Including the microbial realm where a diverse, widespread group of protist parasites (Syndiniales) infect and kill a range of hosts, such as dinoflagellates, radiolarians, and even larger zooplankton. A complete Syndiniales infection cycle is only 2-3 days. First, the parasite is a free-living spore. Once inside a host, the parasite consumes the host’s carbon and becomes a larger multicellular organism (a trophont) eventually causing the host to burst open and release hundreds of new spores.

Like viruses, parasite lysis is expected to reroute organic carbon to the microbial loop, potentially decreasing the amount of carbon available for export to the deep sea. Yet, the role of Syndiniales in carbon cycling has been hard to define, as depth-specific infection dynamics and links to carbon export remain poorly understood.

Figure 1. The mean relative abundance of Syndiniales (purple) in the photic zone (<140 m) is negatively correlated with particulate organic carbon (POC) flux at 150 m (p-value < 0.001). Similar correlations are not significant (p-values > 0.05) for other major 18S taxonomic groups, like Dinophyceae (red) and Arthropoda (green).

In a recent study published in ISME Communications, authors analyzed an 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding dataset from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site that included 4 years (2016-2019) and twelve depths (1-1000 m). Syndiniales were the most dominant 18S group at BATS, present throughout the photic and aphotic zones. These parasites were prominent in species networks constructed with 18S sequence data, with significant associations with dinoflagellates and copepods in the surface, and with radiolarians in the aphotic zone. In addition, Syndiniales were the only major 18S group to be significantly (and negatively) correlated to particulate carbon flux (at 150 m), which was estimated from sediment trap data collected concurrently at BATS (Figure 1). This is in situ evidence of flux attenuation among Syndiniales, as they recycle host carbon that would otherwise transfer up to larger organisms (e.g., via grazing). Lastly, authors found 19% of the Syndiniales community is linked between photic and aphotic zones, indicating that parasites are sinking on particles and/or are recirculated via diel vertical migration. Overall, these findings elevate the role of Syndiniales in microbial food webs and further emphasize the importance in quantifying parasite-host dynamics to inform ocean carbon models.

 

Authors
Sean Anderson (University of New Hampshire / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Leocadio Blanco-Bercial (Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences / Arizona State University)
Craig Carlson (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Elizabeth Harvey (University of New Hampshire)

Austral summer vertical migration patterns in Antarctic zooplankton

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, October 15th, 2020 

Sunrise and sunset are the main cues driving zooplankton diel vertical migration (DVM) throughout the world’s oceans. These marine animals balance the trade-off between feeding in surface waters at night and avoiding predation during the day at depth. Near-constant daylight during polar summer was assumed to dampen these daily migrations. In a recent paper published in Deep-Sea Research I, authors assessed austral summer DVM patterns for 15 taxa over a 9-year period. Despite up to 22 hours of sunlight, a diverse array of zooplankton – including copepods, krill, pteropods, and salps – continued DVM.

Figure caption: Mean day (orange) and night (blue) abundance of (A) the salp Salpa thompsoni, (B) the krill species Thysanoessa macrura, (C) the pteropod Limacina helicina, and (D) chaetognaths sampled at discrete depth intervals from 0-500m. Horizontal dashed lines indicate weighted mean depth (WMD). N:D is the night to day abundance ratio for 0-150 m. Error bars indicate one standard error. Sample size n = 12 to 22. Photos by Larry Madin, Miram Gleiber, and Kharis Schrage.

The Palmer Antarctica Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program conducted this study using a MOCNESS (Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System) to collect depth-stratified samples west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The depth range of migrations during austral summer varied across taxa and with daylength and phytoplankton biomass and distribution. While most taxa continued some form of DVM, others (e.g., carnivores and detritivores) remained most abundant in the mesopelagic zone, regardless of photoperiod, which likely impacted the attenuation of vertical carbon flux. Given the observed differences in vertical distribution and migration behavior across taxa, ongoing changes in Antarctic zooplankton assemblages will likely impact carbon export pathways. More regional, taxon-specific studies such as this are needed to inform efforts to model zooplankton contributions to the biological carbon pump.

 

Authors:
John Conroy (VIMS, William & Mary)
Deborah Steinberg (VIMS, William & Mary)
Patricia Thibodeau (VIMS, William & Mary; currently University of Rhode Island)
Oscar Schofield (Rutgers University)

Zooplankton vertical migrations represent a significant source of carbon export in the ocean

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Friday, March 15th, 2019 

Huge numbers of tiny marine animals, known as zooplankton, migrate between the surface ocean and the twilight zone (200 – 1,000 m below the surface) everyday; it is the largest migration event anywhere on the planet. How much carbon do these animals transport with them and how much do they leave behind sequestered in the deep ocean? In a recent publication in Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Archibald et al. (2019) used a simple model to estimate the magnitude of carbon flux into the twilight zone from zooplankton vertical migrations and observed that it was a significant contributor to carbon export on a global scale. The study also revealed strong regional patterns in migration-mediated carbon flux, with the greatest impact on export occurring at subtropical latitudes (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Percent increase in the modeled carbon export flux out of the surface ocean as a result of zooplankton vertical migrations.

Migrating zooplankton also consume significant amounts of oxygen at depth, generating a local maximum in the oxygen utilization profile at depth within the migration layer. By including the effect of the metabolism of migrating zooplankton, the model is able to produce a more detailed picture of oxygen utilization over the twilight zone. The model in this study effectively simulates the complex phenomenon of zooplankton vertical migrations, providing a simple framework that will allow researchers to investigate how this key component of the global carbon cycle might change under future climatic conditions. For example, if increased stratification leads to a greater representation of small cells in phytoplankton communities, then zooplankton migration-mediated carbon export is expected to make up a proportionally larger fraction of the total carbon export flux.

Authors:
Kevin M. Archibald (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
David A. Siegel (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Scott C. Doney (University of Virginia)

Artificial light from sampling platforms changes zooplankton behavior

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Monday, November 26th, 2018 

When designing sampling we make generally accepted assumptions that what we collect is representative of what is “normal” or naturally occurring at the place, time, and depth of collection. However, a recent study in Science Advances revealed that this might not be true. During round-the-clock shipboard sampling, lights used at night can actually be a form of pollution that disrupts the diel cycle of zooplankton vertical migration.

Effect of light pollution on krill from a ship (left), diel vertical migration in natural dark conditions (middle) and effect of moonlight (right). Figure by Malin Daase (UiT).

Using a Autonomous Surface Vehicle the authors documented zooplankton behavioral patterns of light avoidance never previously seen. The study compared results from high Arctic polar night (unpolluted light environment for an extended time), to near ship samples. During months of near constant darkness in the Arctic, there was still a diel vertical migration of zooplankton limited to the upper 30 m of the water column and centered around the local sun noon. Contrasting the results from light-polluted and unpolluted areas, the authors observed that the vast majority of the pelagic community exhibit a strong light-escape response in the presence of artificial light (both ship light and even headlamps from researchers in open boats). This effect was observed down to 100 m depth and 190 m from the ship. These results suggest that artificial light from traditional sampling platforms may bias studies of zooplankton abundance and diel migration within the upper 100 m. These findings underscore the need for alternative sampling methods such as autonomous platforms, particularly in dim-light conditions, to collect more accurate and representative physical and biological data for ecological studies. In addition to research cruises and sampling, anthropogenic light pollution from predicted increases in shipping, oil and gas exploration, and light-fishing are anticipated to impact the diel rhythms of zooplankton behavior all around the globe.

Authors:
Jørgen Berge (Norwegian University of Technology and Science; UiT The Arctic University of Norway)
Martin Ludvigsen (Norwegian University of Technology and Science; University Centre in Svalbard)
Maxime Geoffroy (UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Memorial University of Newfoundland)
Jonathan H. Cohen (University of Delaware)
Pedro R. De La Torre (Norwegian University of Technology and Science)
Stein M. Nornes (Norwegian University of Technology and Science)
Hanumant Singh (Northeastern University)
Asgeir J. Sørensen (Norwegian University of Technology and Science)
Malin Daase (Norwegian University of Technology and Science)
Geir Johnsen (Norwegian University of Technology and Science; Norwegian University of Technology and Science)

Marine Snowfall at the Equator

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, July 19th, 2018 

The continual flow of organic particles such as dead organisms and fecal material towards the deep sea is called “marine snow,” and it plays an important role in the ocean carbon cycle and climate-related processes. This snowfall is most intense where high primary production can be observed near the surface. This is the case along the equator in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. However, it is not well known how particles are distributed at depth and which processes influence this distribution. A recent study published in Nature Geoscience involved the use of high-resolution particle density data using the Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP) from the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific Oceans down to a depth of 5,000 meters, revealing that several previously accepted ideas on the downward flux of particles into the deep sea should be revisited.

Figure 1. The Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP) during a trial in the Kiel Fjord. The UVP provided crucial data for the new study. Photo: Rainer Kiko, GEOMAR

 

It is typically assumed that the largest particle density can be found close to the surface and that density attenuates continuously with depth. However, high-resolution particle data show that density increases again in the 300-600-meter depth range. The authors attribute this observation to the daily migratory behavior of organisms such as zooplankton that retreat to these depths during the day, contributing to the particle load via defecation and mortality.

Another surprising result is the observation of many small particles below 1,000 meters depth that contribute a large fraction of the bathypelagic particle flux. This observation counters the general assumption, especially in many biogeochemical models, that particle flux at depth comprises fast sinking particles such as fecal pellets. Diminished remineralization rates of small particles or increased disaggregation of larger particles may contribute to the elevated small particle fluxes at this depth.

Figure 2. Zonal current velocity and Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) content across the equatorial Atlantic at 23˚W as observed in November 2012. From left to right: Zonal current velocity, POC content in small particle fraction and POC content in large particle fraction (adapted from Kiko et al. 2017).

 

This study highlights the importance of coupled biological and physical processes in understanding and quantifying the biological carbon pump. Further work on this important topic can now also be submitted to the new Frontiers in Marine Science research topic “Zooplankton and Nekton: Gatekeepers of the Biological Pump” (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/8114/zooplankton-and-nekton-gatekeepers-of-the-biological-pump; Co-editors R. Kiko, M. Iversen, A. Maas, H. Hauss and D. Bianchi). The research topic welcomes a broad range of contributions, from individual-based process studies, to local and global field observations, to modeling approaches to better characterize the role of zooplankton and nekton for the biological pump.

 

Authors:
R. Kiko (GEOMAR)
A. Biastoch (GEOMAR)
P. Brandt (GEOMAR, University of Kiel)
S. Cravatte (LEGOS, University of Toulouse)
H. Hauss (GEOMAR)
R. Hummels (GEOMAR)
I. Kriest (GEOMAR)
F. Marin (LEGOS, University of Toulouse)
A. M. P. McDonnell (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
A. Oschlies (GEOMAR)
M. Picheral (Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-Mer, Observatoire Océanologique)
F. U. Schwarzkopf (GEOMAR)
A. M. Thurnherr (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,)
L. Stemmann (Sorbonne Universités, Observatoire Océanologique)

Phytoplankton can actively diversify their migration strategy in response to turbulent cues

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, August 17th, 2017 

Turbulence is known to be a primary determinant of plankton fitness and succession. However, open questions remain about whether phytoplankton can actively respond to turbulence and, if so, how rapidly they can adapt to it. Recent experiments have revealed that phytoplankton can behaviorally respond to turbulent cues with a rapid change in shape, and this response occurs over a few minutes. This challenges a fundamental paradigm in oceanography that phytoplankton are passively at the mercy of turbulence.

Phytoplankton are photosynthetic microorganisms that form the base of most aquatic food webs, impact global biogeochemical cycles, and produce half of the world’s oxygen. Many species of phytoplankton are motile and migrate in response to gravity and light levels: Upward toward light during the day to photosynthesize and downward at night toward higher nutrient concentrations. Disruption of this diurnal migratory strategy is an important contributor to the succession between motile and non-motile species when conditions become more turbulent. However, this classical view neglects the possibility that motile species can actively respond in an effort to avoid layers of strong turbulence. A recent study by Sengupta, Carrara and Stocker, published in Nature has shown that some raphidophyte and dinoflagellate phytoplankton can actively diversify their migratory strategy in response to hydrodynamic cues characteristic of overturning by the smallest turbulent eddies in the ocean. Laboratory experiments in which cells experienced repeated overturning with timescales and statistics representative of ocean turbulence revealed that over timescales as short as ten minutes, an upward-swimming population split into two subpopulations, one swimming upward and one swimming downward. Quantitative morphological analysis of the harmful algal bloom-forming raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo revealed that this behavior was accompanied by a change in cell shape, wherein the cells that changed their swimming direction did so by going from an asymmetric pear shape to a more symmetric egg shape. A model of cell mechanics showed that the magnitude of this shift was minute, yet sufficient to invert the cells’ preferential swimming direction. The results highlight the advanced level of control that phytoplankton have on their migratory behavior.

Understanding how fluctuations in the oceans’ turbulence landscape impacts phytoplankton is of fundamental importance, especially for predicting species succession and community structure given projected climate-driven changes in temperature, winds, and upper ocean structure.

An upward-swimming phytoplankton population splits into upward- and downward-swimming sub-populations when exposed to turbulent eddies, due to a subtle change in cell shape. Illustration by: A. Sengupta, G. Gorick, F. Carrara and R. Stocker

 

This work was co-funded by a Human Frontier Science Program Cross Disciplinary Fellowship (LT000993/2014-C to A.S.), a Swiss National Science Foundation Early Postdoc Mobility Fellowship (to F.C.), and a Gordon and Betty Moore Marine Microbial Initiative Investigator Award (GBMF 3783 to R.S.)

 

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