Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, USA.
Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences, St. Georges, Bermuda.
Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 8;13(1):1211. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28842-3.
Ocean ecosystem models predict that warming and increased surface ocean stratification will trigger a series of ecosystem events, reducing the biological export of particulate carbon to the ocean interior. We present a nearly three-decade time series from the open ocean that documents a biological response to ocean warming and nutrient reductions wherein particulate carbon export is maintained, counter to expectations. Carbon export is maintained through a combination of phytoplankton community change to favor cyanobacteria with high cellular carbon-to-phosphorus ratios and enhanced shallow phosphorus recycling leading to increased nutrient use efficiency. These results suggest that surface ocean ecosystems may be more responsive and adapt more rapidly to changes in the hydrographic system than is currently envisioned in earth ecosystem models, with positive consequences for ocean carbon uptake.
海洋生态系统模型预测，变暖以及海洋表面分层加剧将引发一系列生态系统事件，从而减少颗粒态碳向海洋内部的生物输出。我们呈现了一个来自开阔海域的近三十年时间序列，该序列记录了生物对海洋变暖及营养物减少的响应，其中颗粒态碳输出得到维持，与预期相反。通过有利于具有高细胞碳磷比的蓝细菌的浮游植物群落变化和增强的浅层磷再循环，从而提高营养物利用效率，实现了碳输出的维持。这些结果表明，与地球生态系统模型目前所设想的相比，海洋表层生态系统对水文学系统的变化可能更具响应性和适应性，这对海洋碳吸收具有积极影响。
