The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Sedimentation of acantharian cysts in the Iceland Basin: Strontium as a ballast for deep ocean particle flux, and implications for acantharian reproductive strategies

Sedimentation of acantharian cysts in the Iceland Basin: Strontium as a ballast for deep ocean particle flux, and implications for acantharian reproductive strategies
Sedimentation of acantharian cysts in the Iceland Basin: Strontium as a ballast for deep ocean particle flux, and implications for acantharian reproductive strategies
Acantharian cysts were discovered in sediment trap samples from spring 2007 at 2000 m in the Iceland Basin.
Although these single-celled organisms contribute to particulate organic matter flux in the upper mesopelagic,
their contribution to bathypelagic particle flux has previously been found negligible. Four time-series sediment
traps were deployed and all collected acantharian cysts, which are reproductive structures. Across all traps, cysts
contributed on average 3–22%, and 4–24% of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON) flux,
respectively, during three separate collection intervals (the maximum contribution in any one trap was 48% for
POC and 59% for PON). Strontium (Sr) flux during these 6 weeks reached 3 mg m22 d21. The acantharian
celestite (SrSO4) skeleton clearly does not always dissolve in the mesopelagic as often thought, and their cysts can
contribute significantly to particle flux at bathypelagic depths during specific flux events. Their large size
(, 1 mm) and mineral ballast result in a sinking rate of , 500 m d21; hence, they reach the bathypelagic before
dissolving. Our findings are consistent with a vertical profile of salinity-normalized Sr concentration in the Iceland
Basin, which shows a maximum at 1700 m. Profiles of salinity-normalized Sr concentration in the subarctic
Pacific reach maxima at # 1500 m, suggesting that Acantharia might contribute to the bathypelagic particle flux
there as well. We hypothesize that Acantharia at high latitudes use rapid, deep sedimentation of reproductive
cysts during phytoplankton blooms so that juveniles can exploit the large quantity of organic matter that sinks
rapidly to the deep sea following a bloom.
0024-3590
604-614
Martin, Patrick
01ce1c59-3926-46c9-a556-fac39e0ee16b
Allen, John T.
b251a62b-f443-4591-b695-9aa8c4d73741
Cooper, Matthew J.
54f7bff0-1f8c-4835-8358-71eef8529e7a
Johns, David G.
e14bdb16-71b4-4e61-b5fe-da6c75486489
Lampitt, Richard S.
dfc3785c-fc7d-41fa-89ee-d0c6e27503ad
Sanders, Richard
02c163c1-8f5e-49ad-857c-d28f7da66c65
Teagle, Damon A.H.
396539c5-acbe-4dfa-bb9b-94af878fe286
Martin, Patrick
01ce1c59-3926-46c9-a556-fac39e0ee16b
Allen, John T.
b251a62b-f443-4591-b695-9aa8c4d73741
Cooper, Matthew J.
54f7bff0-1f8c-4835-8358-71eef8529e7a
Johns, David G.
e14bdb16-71b4-4e61-b5fe-da6c75486489
Lampitt, Richard S.
dfc3785c-fc7d-41fa-89ee-d0c6e27503ad
Sanders, Richard
02c163c1-8f5e-49ad-857c-d28f7da66c65
Teagle, Damon A.H.
396539c5-acbe-4dfa-bb9b-94af878fe286

Martin, Patrick, Allen, John T., Cooper, Matthew J., Johns, David G., Lampitt, Richard S., Sanders, Richard and Teagle, Damon A.H. (2010) Sedimentation of acantharian cysts in the Iceland Basin: Strontium as a ballast for deep ocean particle flux, and implications for acantharian reproductive strategies. Limnology and Oceanography, 55 (2), 604-614. (doi:10.4319/lo.2010.55.2.0604).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Acantharian cysts were discovered in sediment trap samples from spring 2007 at 2000 m in the Iceland Basin.
Although these single-celled organisms contribute to particulate organic matter flux in the upper mesopelagic,
their contribution to bathypelagic particle flux has previously been found negligible. Four time-series sediment
traps were deployed and all collected acantharian cysts, which are reproductive structures. Across all traps, cysts
contributed on average 3–22%, and 4–24% of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON) flux,
respectively, during three separate collection intervals (the maximum contribution in any one trap was 48% for
POC and 59% for PON). Strontium (Sr) flux during these 6 weeks reached 3 mg m22 d21. The acantharian
celestite (SrSO4) skeleton clearly does not always dissolve in the mesopelagic as often thought, and their cysts can
contribute significantly to particle flux at bathypelagic depths during specific flux events. Their large size
(, 1 mm) and mineral ballast result in a sinking rate of , 500 m d21; hence, they reach the bathypelagic before
dissolving. Our findings are consistent with a vertical profile of salinity-normalized Sr concentration in the Iceland
Basin, which shows a maximum at 1700 m. Profiles of salinity-normalized Sr concentration in the subarctic
Pacific reach maxima at # 1500 m, suggesting that Acantharia might contribute to the bathypelagic particle flux
there as well. We hypothesize that Acantharia at high latitudes use rapid, deep sedimentation of reproductive
cysts during phytoplankton blooms so that juveniles can exploit the large quantity of organic matter that sinks
rapidly to the deep sea following a bloom.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2010
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 73572
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/73572
ISSN: 0024-3590
PURE UUID: a9693fc9-9372-411d-b16e-d76c6ae8d8ff
ORCID for Matthew J. Cooper: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2130-2759
ORCID for Damon A.H. Teagle: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4416-8409

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 09 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:45

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Patrick Martin
Author: John T. Allen
Author: David G. Johns
Author: Richard S. Lampitt
Author: Richard Sanders

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×