Gelatinous zooplankton-mediated carbon flows in the global oceans: A data-driven modeling study
Type
ArticleAuthors
Luo, Jessica Y.
Condon, Robert H.
Stock, Charles A.

Duarte, Carlos M.

Lucas, Cathy H.
Pitt, Kylie A.
Cowen, Robert K.
KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionMarine Science Program
Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)
Date
2020-09-18Online Publication Date
2020-09-18Print Publication Date
2020-09Embargo End Date
2021-02-27Submitted Date
2020-06-13Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/664936
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Among marine organisms, gelatinous zooplankton (GZ; cnidarians, ctenophores, and pelagic tunicates) are unique in their energetic efficiency, as the gelatinous body plan allows them to process and assimilate high proportions of oceanic carbon. Upon death, their body shape facilitates rapid sinking through the water column, resulting in carcass depositions on the seafloor (“jelly-falls”). GZ are thought to be important components of the biological pump, but their overall contribution to global carbon fluxes remains unknown. Using a data-driven, 3-dimensional, carbon-cycle model resolved to a 1° global grid, with a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, we estimate that GZ consumed 7.9-13 Pg C y-1 in phytoplankton and zooplankton, resulting in a net production of 3.9-5.8 Pg C y-1 in the upper ocean (top 200 m), with the largest fluxes from pelagic tunicates. Non-predation mortality (carcasses) comprised 25% of GZ-production, and combined with the much greater fecal matter flux, total GZ particulate organic carbon (POC) export at 100 m was 1.6-5.2 Pg C y-1, equivalent to 32-40% of the global POC export. The fast sinking GZ export resulted in a high transfer efficiency (Teff) of 38-62% to 1000 m, and 25-40% to the seafloor. Finally, jelly-falls at depths > 50 m are likely unaccounted for in current POC flux estimates and could increase benthic POC flux by 8-35%. The significant magnitude of and distinct sinking properties of GZ fluxes support a critical yet under-recognized role of GZ carcasses and fecal matter to the biological pump and air-sea carbon balance.Citation
Luo, J. Y., Condon, R. H., Stock, C. A., Duarte, C. M., Lucas, C. H., Pitt, K. A., & Cowen, R. K. (2020). Gelatinous zooplankton-mediated carbon flows in the global oceans: A data-driven modeling study. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. doi:10.1029/2020gb006704Sponsors
Many thanks to Su Sponaugle, Kelly Robinson, Jim Ruzicka, Martin Lilley, and Matt Long for helpful discussions. We also thank John Dunne and two anonymous reviewers for comments that improved previous versions of this manuscript. JYL acknowledges support from NSF (OCE Grant 1419987 to RKC and S. Sponaugle), and the NOAA Marine Ecosystem Tipping Points initiative. We also acknowledge support from Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) for hosting the JeDI dataset.Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Journal
Global Biogeochemical CyclesAdditional Links
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020GB006704Relations
Is Supplemented By:- [Dataset]
Luo, J. Y., Condon, R. H., Stock, C. A., Duarte, C. M., Lucas, C. H., Pitt, K. A., & Cowen, R. K. (2020). Dataset for Gelatinous zooplankton-mediated carbon flows in the global oceans: A data-driven modeling study (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3891703. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3891703 Handle: 10754/665139 - [Software]
Title: jessluo/gz_biogeochem_pub: Offline model to assess role of gelatinous zooplankton in global carbon cycle. Publication Date: 2020-08-21. github: jessluo/gz_biogeochem_pub Handle: 10754/667961
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1029/2020gb006704