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The Effects of Natural Iron Fertilisation on Deep-Sea Ecology: The Crozet Plateau, Southern Indian Ocean

The Effects of Natural Iron Fertilisation on Deep-Sea Ecology: The Crozet Plateau, Southern Indian Ocean
The Effects of Natural Iron Fertilisation on Deep-Sea Ecology: The Crozet Plateau, Southern Indian Ocean
The addition of iron to high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) oceanic waters stimulates phytoplankton, leading to greater primary production. Large-scale artificial ocean iron fertilization (OIF) has been proposed as a means of mitigating anthropogenic atmospheric CO2, but its impacts on ocean ecosystems below the photic zone are unknown. Natural OIF, through the addition of iron leached from volcanic islands, has been shown to enhance primary productivity and carbon export and so can be used to study the effects of OIF on life in the ocean. We compared two closely-located deep-sea sites (~400 km apart and both at ~4200 m water depth) to the East (naturally iron fertilized; +Fe) and South (HNLC) of the Crozet Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Our results suggest that long-term geo-engineering of surface oceanic waters via artificial OIF would lead to significant changes in deep-sea ecosystems. We found that the +Fe area had greater supplies of organic matter inputs to the seafloor, including polyunsaturated fatty acid and carotenoid nutrients. The +Fe site also had greater densities and biomasses of large deep-sea animals with lower levels of evenness in community structuring. The species composition was also very different, with the +Fe site showing similarities to eutrophic sites in other ocean basins. Moreover, major differences occurred in the taxa at the +Fe and HNLC sites revealing the crucial role that surface oceanic conditions play in changing and structuring deep-sea benthic communities.
1932-6203
e20697
Wolff, George A.
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Billett, David S.M.
aab439e2-c839-4cd2-815c-3d401e0468db
Bett, Brian J.
61342990-13be-45ae-9f5c-9540114335d9
Holtvoeth, Jens
9d75ac16-0386-4d60-bc5e-b66fbcdce91e
FitzGeorge-Balfour, Tania
46b896f4-8b96-4d64-a046-309141f474d0
Fisher, Elizabeth H.
21887fdb-54b5-4ac7-8910-560a7b59520c
Cross, Ian
402d8daf-95c0-44eb-89da-1171327fa2fd
Shannon, Roger
fafabc90-82a7-495d-9dcc-fadcda067ea2
Salter, Ian
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Boorman, Ben
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King, Nicola J.
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Jamieson, Alan
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Chaillan, Frédéric
01e7044d-e114-4a10-91a3-fead957c058b
Wolff, George A.
6b29d886-06f9-4405-8fab-33cfb436acaa
Billett, David S.M.
aab439e2-c839-4cd2-815c-3d401e0468db
Bett, Brian J.
61342990-13be-45ae-9f5c-9540114335d9
Holtvoeth, Jens
9d75ac16-0386-4d60-bc5e-b66fbcdce91e
FitzGeorge-Balfour, Tania
46b896f4-8b96-4d64-a046-309141f474d0
Fisher, Elizabeth H.
21887fdb-54b5-4ac7-8910-560a7b59520c
Cross, Ian
402d8daf-95c0-44eb-89da-1171327fa2fd
Shannon, Roger
fafabc90-82a7-495d-9dcc-fadcda067ea2
Salter, Ian
b38c8ced-835b-4732-ac38-df1c93a0c1ba
Boorman, Ben
0ae43ea8-c693-4dd9-b7b3-c7524a264a08
King, Nicola J.
4ac618df-7058-426d-be07-b3af24167b8a
Jamieson, Alan
0047b0a3-71dd-4d8a-8096-738d1ace0f85
Chaillan, Frédéric
01e7044d-e114-4a10-91a3-fead957c058b

Wolff, George A., Billett, David S.M., Bett, Brian J., Holtvoeth, Jens, FitzGeorge-Balfour, Tania, Fisher, Elizabeth H., Cross, Ian, Shannon, Roger, Salter, Ian, Boorman, Ben, King, Nicola J., Jamieson, Alan and Chaillan, Frédéric (2011) The Effects of Natural Iron Fertilisation on Deep-Sea Ecology: The Crozet Plateau, Southern Indian Ocean. PLoS ONE, 6 (6), e20697. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020697).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The addition of iron to high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) oceanic waters stimulates phytoplankton, leading to greater primary production. Large-scale artificial ocean iron fertilization (OIF) has been proposed as a means of mitigating anthropogenic atmospheric CO2, but its impacts on ocean ecosystems below the photic zone are unknown. Natural OIF, through the addition of iron leached from volcanic islands, has been shown to enhance primary productivity and carbon export and so can be used to study the effects of OIF on life in the ocean. We compared two closely-located deep-sea sites (~400 km apart and both at ~4200 m water depth) to the East (naturally iron fertilized; +Fe) and South (HNLC) of the Crozet Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Our results suggest that long-term geo-engineering of surface oceanic waters via artificial OIF would lead to significant changes in deep-sea ecosystems. We found that the +Fe area had greater supplies of organic matter inputs to the seafloor, including polyunsaturated fatty acid and carotenoid nutrients. The +Fe site also had greater densities and biomasses of large deep-sea animals with lower levels of evenness in community structuring. The species composition was also very different, with the +Fe site showing similarities to eutrophic sites in other ocean basins. Moreover, major differences occurred in the taxa at the +Fe and HNLC sites revealing the crucial role that surface oceanic conditions play in changing and structuring deep-sea benthic communities.

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Published date: 2011
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry

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Local EPrints ID: 191607
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/191607
ISSN: 1932-6203
PURE UUID: fdc22cbf-dfce-47a7-9d85-0041afe70fa5

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Date deposited: 22 Jun 2011 14:14
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 03:45

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Contributors

Author: George A. Wolff
Author: David S.M. Billett
Author: Brian J. Bett
Author: Jens Holtvoeth
Author: Tania FitzGeorge-Balfour
Author: Elizabeth H. Fisher
Author: Ian Cross
Author: Roger Shannon
Author: Ian Salter
Author: Ben Boorman
Author: Nicola J. King
Author: Alan Jamieson
Author: Frédéric Chaillan

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