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Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean
Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean
Global estimates indicate the oceans are responsible for approximately half of the carbon dioxide fixed on Earth. Organisms less than or equal to5??m in size dominate open ocean phytoplankton communities in terms of abundance and CO2 fixation, with the cyanobacterial genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus numerically the most abundant and more extensively studied compared with small eukaryotes. However, the contribution of specific taxonomic groups to marine CO2 fixation is still poorly known. In this study, we show that among the phytoplankton, small eukaryotes contribute significantly to CO2 fixation (44%) because of their larger cell volume and thereby higher cell-specific CO2 fixation rates. Within the eukaryotes, two groups, herein called Euk-A and Euk-B, were distinguished based on their flow cytometric signature. Euk-A, the most abundant group, contained cells 1.8±0.1??m in size while Euk-B was the least abundant but cells were larger (2.8±0.2??m). The Euk-B group comprising prymnesiophytes (73±13%) belonging largely to lineages with no close cultured counterparts accounted for up to 38% of the total primary production in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean, suggesting a key role of this group in oceanic CO2 fixation.
CO2 fixation, primary production, prymnesiophytes, chrysophytes
1751-7362
1180-1192
Jardillier, Ludwig
643eb51e-f80a-431c-ad72-9eed75e0cce9
Zubkov, Mikhail V.
b1dfb3a0-bcff-430c-9031-358a22b50743
Pearman, John
b0b87f6a-66e5-4cfc-9cd6-fdba162f7f2e
Scanlan, David J.
748c7970-2e58-4a46-82ad-0138f41bd713
Jardillier, Ludwig
643eb51e-f80a-431c-ad72-9eed75e0cce9
Zubkov, Mikhail V.
b1dfb3a0-bcff-430c-9031-358a22b50743
Pearman, John
b0b87f6a-66e5-4cfc-9cd6-fdba162f7f2e
Scanlan, David J.
748c7970-2e58-4a46-82ad-0138f41bd713

Jardillier, Ludwig, Zubkov, Mikhail V., Pearman, John and Scanlan, David J. (2010) Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean. The ISME Journal, 4 (9), 1180-1192. (doi:10.1038/ismej.2010.36).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Global estimates indicate the oceans are responsible for approximately half of the carbon dioxide fixed on Earth. Organisms less than or equal to5??m in size dominate open ocean phytoplankton communities in terms of abundance and CO2 fixation, with the cyanobacterial genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus numerically the most abundant and more extensively studied compared with small eukaryotes. However, the contribution of specific taxonomic groups to marine CO2 fixation is still poorly known. In this study, we show that among the phytoplankton, small eukaryotes contribute significantly to CO2 fixation (44%) because of their larger cell volume and thereby higher cell-specific CO2 fixation rates. Within the eukaryotes, two groups, herein called Euk-A and Euk-B, were distinguished based on their flow cytometric signature. Euk-A, the most abundant group, contained cells 1.8±0.1??m in size while Euk-B was the least abundant but cells were larger (2.8±0.2??m). The Euk-B group comprising prymnesiophytes (73±13%) belonging largely to lineages with no close cultured counterparts accounted for up to 38% of the total primary production in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean, suggesting a key role of this group in oceanic CO2 fixation.

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More information

Published date: 15 April 2010
Keywords: CO2 fixation, primary production, prymnesiophytes, chrysophytes
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry, National Oceanography Centre,Southampton

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 145529
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/145529
ISSN: 1751-7362
PURE UUID: 630431ca-965b-46d3-b100-4aca5c81fdb6

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Date deposited: 19 Apr 2010 09:31
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:51

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Contributors

Author: Ludwig Jardillier
Author: Mikhail V. Zubkov
Author: John Pearman
Author: David J. Scanlan

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