Niche partitioning by photosynthetic plankton as a driver of CO₂-fixation across the oligotrophic South Pacific Subtropical Ocean.

ABSTRACT: Oligotrophic ocean gyre ecosystems may be expanding due to rising global temperatures [1-5]. Models predicting carbon flow through these changing ecosystems require accurate descriptions of phytoplankton communities and their metabolic activities [6]. We therefore measured distributions and activities of cyanobacteria and small photosynthetic eukaryotes throughout the euphotic zone on a zonal transect through the South Pacific Ocean, focusing on the ultraoligotrophic waters of the South Pacific Gyre (SPG). Bulk rates of CO₂ fixation were low (0.1 µmol C l^-1 d^-1) but pervasive throughout both the surface mixed-layer (upper 150 m), as well as the deep chlorophyll a maximum of the core SPG. Chloroplast 16S rRNA metabarcoding, and single-cell ¹³CO

SUBMITTER: Duerschlag J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8776750 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature