Food web structure for high carbon retention in marine plankton communities.

ABSTRACT: Total annual net primary productions in marine and terrestrial ecosystems are similar. However, a large portion of the newly produced marine phytoplankton biomass is converted to carbon dioxide because of predation. Which food web structure retains high carbon biomass in the plankton community in the global ocean? In 6954 individual samples or locations containing phytoplankton, unicellular protozooplankton, and multicellular metazooplankton in the global ocean, phytoplankton-dominated bottom-heavy pyramids held higher carbon biomass than protozooplankton-dominated middle-heavy diamonds or metazooplankton-dominated top-heavy inverted pyramids. Bottom-heavy pyramids predominated, but the high predation impact by protozooplankton on phytoplankton or the vertical migration of metazooplankton

SUBMITTER: Kang HC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10848704 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature