The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The impact of marine nutrient abundance on early eukaryotic ecosystems

The impact of marine nutrient abundance on early eukaryotic ecosystems
The impact of marine nutrient abundance on early eukaryotic ecosystems
The rise of eukaryotes to ecological prominence represents one of the most dramatic shifts in the history of Earth's biosphere. However, there is an enigmatic temporal lag between the emergence of eukaryotic organisms in the fossil record and their much later ecological expansion. In parallel, there is evidence for a secular increase in the availability of the key macronutrient phosphorus (P) in Earth's oceans. Here, we use an Earth system model equipped with a size‐structured marine ecosystem to explore relationships between plankton size, trophic complexity, and the availability of marine nutrients. We find a strong dependence of planktonic ecosystem structure on ocean nutrient abundance, with a larger ocean nutrient inventory leading to greater overall biomass, broader size spectra, and increasing abundance of large Zooplankton. If existing estimates of Proterozoic marine nutrient levels are correct, our results suggest that increases in the ecological impact of eukaryotic algae and trophic complexity in eukaryotic ecosystems were directly linked to restructuring of the global P cycle associated with the protracted rise of surface oxygen levels. Our results thus suggest an indirect but potentially important mechanism by which ocean oxygenation may have acted to shape marine ecological function during late Proterozoic time.
Proterozoic, eukaryote evolution, nutrient cycles, oxygenation
1472-4677
139-151
Reinhard, Christopher T.
52890ff7-4213-4050-8b80-e32f59e920a9
Planavsky, Noah J.
7a53fda1-aad7-4dd5-a10c-77290c31b043
Ward, Ben A.
9063af30-e344-4626-9470-8db7c1543d05
Love, Gordon D.
b48a2fae-cbeb-4f0c-b4d6-cb7bb733669f
Le Hir, Guillaume
22abb77c-6846-445d-805c-f9b3c5d81eb2
Ridgwell, Andy
769cea5c-e033-456a-8b53-51dfa307dc35
Reinhard, Christopher T.
52890ff7-4213-4050-8b80-e32f59e920a9
Planavsky, Noah J.
7a53fda1-aad7-4dd5-a10c-77290c31b043
Ward, Ben A.
9063af30-e344-4626-9470-8db7c1543d05
Love, Gordon D.
b48a2fae-cbeb-4f0c-b4d6-cb7bb733669f
Le Hir, Guillaume
22abb77c-6846-445d-805c-f9b3c5d81eb2
Ridgwell, Andy
769cea5c-e033-456a-8b53-51dfa307dc35

Reinhard, Christopher T., Planavsky, Noah J., Ward, Ben A., Love, Gordon D., Le Hir, Guillaume and Ridgwell, Andy (2020) The impact of marine nutrient abundance on early eukaryotic ecosystems. Geobiology, 18 (2), 139-151. (doi:10.1111/gbi.12384).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The rise of eukaryotes to ecological prominence represents one of the most dramatic shifts in the history of Earth's biosphere. However, there is an enigmatic temporal lag between the emergence of eukaryotic organisms in the fossil record and their much later ecological expansion. In parallel, there is evidence for a secular increase in the availability of the key macronutrient phosphorus (P) in Earth's oceans. Here, we use an Earth system model equipped with a size‐structured marine ecosystem to explore relationships between plankton size, trophic complexity, and the availability of marine nutrients. We find a strong dependence of planktonic ecosystem structure on ocean nutrient abundance, with a larger ocean nutrient inventory leading to greater overall biomass, broader size spectra, and increasing abundance of large Zooplankton. If existing estimates of Proterozoic marine nutrient levels are correct, our results suggest that increases in the ecological impact of eukaryotic algae and trophic complexity in eukaryotic ecosystems were directly linked to restructuring of the global P cycle associated with the protracted rise of surface oxygen levels. Our results thus suggest an indirect but potentially important mechanism by which ocean oxygenation may have acted to shape marine ecological function during late Proterozoic time.

Text
Geobiology_for_Ben - Accepted Manuscript
Download (1MB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 5 November 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 17 February 2020
Published date: 1 March 2020
Keywords: Proterozoic, eukaryote evolution, nutrient cycles, oxygenation

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 438475
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/438475
ISSN: 1472-4677
PURE UUID: 78bd13c1-81b6-4df6-b3cb-2736ff8ee5d7

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Mar 2020 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:24

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Christopher T. Reinhard
Author: Noah J. Planavsky
Author: Ben A. Ward
Author: Gordon D. Love
Author: Guillaume Le Hir
Author: Andy Ridgwell

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.

×