Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux
Mixotrophic plankton, which combine the uptake of inorganic resources and the ingestion of living prey, are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems, but their integrated biogeochemical impacts remain unclear. We address this issue by removing the strict distinction between phytoplankton and zooplankton from...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104937 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 |
| _version_ | 1826196080427008000 |
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| author | Ward, Ben A. Follows, Michael J |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Ward, Ben A. Follows, Michael J |
| author_sort | Ward, Ben A. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Mixotrophic plankton, which combine the uptake of inorganic resources and the ingestion of living prey, are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems, but their integrated biogeochemical impacts remain unclear. We address this issue by removing the strict distinction between phytoplankton and zooplankton from a global model of the marine plankton food web. This simplification allows the emergence of a realistic trophic network with increased fidelity to empirical estimates of plankton community structure and elemental stoichiometry, relative to a system in which autotrophy and heterotrophy are mutually exclusive. Mixotrophy enhances the transfer of biomass to larger sizes classes further up the food chain, leading to an approximately threefold increase in global mean organism size and an ∼35% increase in sinking carbon flux. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:20:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/104937 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:20:32Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1049372022-09-30T20:32:42Z Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux Ward, Ben A. Follows, Michael J Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Follows, Michael J Mixotrophic plankton, which combine the uptake of inorganic resources and the ingestion of living prey, are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems, but their integrated biogeochemical impacts remain unclear. We address this issue by removing the strict distinction between phytoplankton and zooplankton from a global model of the marine plankton food web. This simplification allows the emergence of a realistic trophic network with increased fidelity to empirical estimates of plankton community structure and elemental stoichiometry, relative to a system in which autotrophy and heterotrophy are mutually exclusive. Mixotrophy enhances the transfer of biomass to larger sizes classes further up the food chain, leading to an approximately threefold increase in global mean organism size and an ∼35% increase in sinking carbon flux. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX13AC34G) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant OCE-1434007) Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Marine Microbiology Initiative Grant 3778) Simons Foundation. Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology 2016-10-24T15:34:28Z 2016-10-24T15:34:28Z 2016-03 2015-08 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0027-8424 1091-6490 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104937 Ward, Ben A., and Michael J. Follows. “Marine Mixotrophy Increases Trophic Transfer Efficiency, Mean Organism Size, and Vertical Carbon Flux.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113.11 (2016): 2958–2963. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1517118113 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) PNAS |
| spellingShingle | Ward, Ben A. Follows, Michael J Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux |
| title | Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux |
| title_full | Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux |
| title_fullStr | Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux |
| title_full_unstemmed | Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux |
| title_short | Marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency, mean organism size, and vertical carbon flux |
| title_sort | marine mixotrophy increases trophic transfer efficiency mean organism size and vertical carbon flux |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104937 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 |
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