Global patterns in marine organic matter stoichiometry driven by phytoplankton ecophysiology.

ABSTRACT: The proportion of major elements in marine organic matter links cellular processes to global nutrient, oxygen and carbon cycles. Differences in the C:N:P ratios of organic matter have been observed between ocean biomes, but these patterns have yet to be quantified from the underlying small-scale physiological and ecological processes. Here we use an ecosystem model that includes adaptive resource allocation within and between ecologically distinct plankton size classes to attribute the causes of global patterns in the C:N:P ratios. We find that patterns of N:C variation are largely driven by common physiological adjustment strategies across all phytoplankton, while patterns of N:P are driven by ecological selection for taxonomic groups with different phosphorus storage capacities. Although

SUBMITTER: Inomura K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9749492 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature