Department of Biological Sciences and School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA; email:
Ann Rev Mar Sci. 2019 Jan 3;11:57-74. doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-121916-063627. Epub 2018 Jul 11.
Carbon fixation by phytoplankton near the surface and the sinking of this particulate material to deeper waters are key components of the biological carbon pump. The efficiency of the biological pump is influenced by the size and taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton community. Large, heavily ballasted taxa such as diatoms sink quickly and thus efficiently remove fixed carbon from the upper ocean. Smaller, nonballasted species such as picoplanktonic cyanobacteria are usually thought to contribute little to export production. Research in the past decade, however, has shed new light on the potential importance of small phytoplankton to carbon export, especially in oligotrophic oceans, where small cells dominate primary productivity. Here, I examine the mechanisms and pathways through which small-phytoplankton carbon is exported from the surface ocean and the role of small phytoplankton in food webs of a variety of ocean ecosystems.
浮游植物在表层的固碳作用以及这些颗粒物质下沉到更深水域是生物碳泵的关键组成部分。生物泵的效率受到浮游植物群落的大小和分类组成的影响。大的、重质的类群，如硅藻，下沉速度很快，因此能有效地将固定碳从上层海洋中去除。较小的、非重质的物种，如微微型蓝细菌，通常被认为对输出生产贡献不大。然而，过去十年的研究为小型浮游植物对碳输出的潜在重要性提供了新的认识，特别是在贫营养的海洋中，那里小细胞主导着初级生产力。在这里，我研究了小型浮游植物碳从表层海洋输出的机制和途径，以及小型浮游植物在各种海洋生态系统食物网中的作用。
