Agostino Merico

Emiliania huxleyi: bloom observations and the conditions that induce them

Most of what is known about the distribution of blooms of Emiliania huxleyi comes from satellite evidence. However, patches of bright water in satellite images are not always E. huxleyi blooms and satellite evidence needs to be verified by in situ sampling in the area. In this article we firstly describe the observational evidence for these blooms in various regions of the global ocean, and then proceed to describe mimicking conditions: the occasional bright waters that are not E. huxleyi blooms. In the second part of this article we discuss the possible causes of the E. huxleyi blooms. We review the various hypotheses concerning the water conditions required to generate these blooms.

Eocene/Oligocene ocean de-acidification linked to Antarctic glaciation by sea-level fall

One of the most dramatic perturbations to the Earth system during the past 100 million years was the rapid onset of Antarctic glaciation near the Eocene/Oligocene epoch boundary (∼34 million years ago). This climate transition was accompanied by a deepening of the calcite compensation depth—the ocean depth at which the rate of calcium carbonate input from surface waters equals the rate of dissolution. Changes in the global carbon cycle, rather than changes in continental configuration, have recently been proposed as the most likely root cause of Antarctic glaciation, but the mechanism linking glaciation to the deepening of calcite compensation depth remains unclear. Here we use a global biogeochemical box model to test competing hypotheses put forward to explain the Eocene/Oligocene transition. We find that, of the candidate hypotheses, only shelf to deep sea carbonate partitioning is capable of explaining the observed changes in both carbon isotope composition and calcium carbonate accumulation at the sea floor. In our simulations, glacioeustatic sea-level fall associated with the growth of Antarctic ice sheets permanently reduces global calcium carbonate accumulation on the continental shelves, leading to an increase in pelagic burial via permanent deepening of the calcite compensation depth. At the same time, fresh limestones are exposed to erosion, thus temporarily increasing global river inputs of dissolved carbonate and increasing seawater δ13C. Our work sheds new light on the mechanisms linking glaciation and ocean acidity change across arguably the most important climate transition of the Cenozoic era.

Analysis of satellite imagery for Emiliania huxleyi blooms in the Bering Sea before 1997

The presence of blooms of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi in the Bering Sea shelf has been studied using satellite imagery in order to ascertain whether its first reported appearance in 1997 is really a new phenomenon for the area. Examination for Emiliania huxleyi blooms in Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery dating from 1978 to 1996 was performed and the relationship between the presence of Emiliania huxleyi and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the El Nino Southern Oscillation was investigated. No evidence of the presence of this species was found in CZCS or AVHRR imagery between 1978 and 1995. AVHRR images reveal that a small coccolithophore bloom was present in summer 1996. Although the blooms of 1997 were unprecedented in extension and intensity, it appears that the Bering Sea ecosystem did not respond as abruptly to atmospheric anomalies as initially reported.

Mechanisms shaping size structure and functional diversity of phytoplankton communities in the ocean

The factors regulating phytoplankton community composition play a crucial role in structuring aquatic food webs. However, consensus is still lacking about the mechanisms underlying the observed biogeographical differences in cell size composition of phytoplankton communities. Here we use a trait-based model to disentangle these mechanisms in two contrasting regions of the Atlantic Ocean. In our model, the phytoplankton community can self-assemble based on a trade-off emerging from relationships between cell size and (1) nutrient uptake, (2) zooplankton grazing, and (3) phytoplankton sinking. Grazing ‘pushes’ the community towards larger cell sizes, whereas nutrient uptake and sinking ‘pull’ the community towards smaller cell sizes. We find that the stable environmental conditions of the tropics strongly balance these forces leading to persistently small cell sizes and reduced size diversity. In contrast, the seasonality of the temperate region causes the community to regularly reorganize via shifts in species composition and to exhibit, on average, bigger cell sizes and higher size diversity than in the tropics. Our results raise the importance of environmental variability as a key structuring mechanism of plankton communities in the ocean and call for a reassessment of the current understanding of phytoplankton diversity patterns across latitudinal gradients.

The slow demise of Easter Island: insights from a modeling investigation

The history of Easter Island and its supposed social-ecological collapse is often taken as a grim warning for the modern world. However, while the loss of a once lush palm forest is largely uncontested, causes and timing of the collapse remain controversial, because many paleoeological and archaeological data are afflicted with considerable uncertainties. According to a scenario named ecocide, the overharvesting of palm trees triggered a dramatic population decline, whereas a contrasting view termed genocide deems diseases and enslavement introduced by Europeans as the main reasons for the collapse. We propose here a third possibility, a slow demise, in which aspects of both ecocide and genocide concur to produce a long and slow decline of the society. We use a dynamic model to illustrate the consequences of the three alternatives with respect to the fate of the paleoecological system of the island. While none of the three model scenarios can be safely ruled out given the uncertainties of the available data, the slow demise appears to be the most plausible model scenario, in particular when considering the temporal pattern of deforestation as inferred from radiocarbon dates of charcoal remains.

Severity of ocean acidification following the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact

Significance Ammonites went extinct at the time of the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact, as did more than 90% of species of calcium carbonate-shelled plankton (coccolithophores and foraminifera). Comparable groups not possessing calcium carbonate shells were less severely affected, raising the possibility that ocean acidification, as a side effect of the collision, might have been responsible for the apparent selectivity of the extinctions. We investigated whether ocean acidification could have caused the disappearance of the calcifying organisms. In a first detailed modelling study we simulated several possible mechanisms from impact to seawater acidification. Our results suggest that acidification was most probably not the cause of the extinctions. Most paleo-episodes of ocean acidification (OA) were either too slow or too small to be instructive in predicting near-future impacts. The end-Cretaceous event (66 Mya) is intriguing in this regard, both because of its rapid onset and also because many pelagic calcifying species (including 100% of ammonites and more than 90% of calcareous nannoplankton and foraminifera) went extinct at this time. Here we evaluate whether extinction-level OA could feasibly have been produced by the asteroid impact. Carbon cycle box models were used to estimate OA consequences of (i) vaporization of up to 60 × 1015 mol of sulfur from gypsum rocks at the point of impact; (ii) generation of up to 5 × 1015 mol of NOx by the impact pressure wave and other sources; (iii) release of up to 6,500 Pg C as CO2 from vaporization of carbonate rocks, wildfires, and soil carbon decay; and (iv) ocean overturn bringing high-CO2 water to the surface. We find that the acidification produced by most processes is too weak to explain calcifier extinctions. Sulfuric acid additions could have made the surface ocean extremely undersaturated (Ωcalcite <0.5), but only if they reached the ocean very rapidly (over a few days) and if the quantity added was at the top end of literature estimates. We therefore conclude that severe ocean acidification might have been, but most likely was not, responsible for the great extinctions of planktonic calcifiers and ammonites at the end of the Cretaceous.

Quantifying the relative importance of transcellular and paracellular ion transports to coral polyp calcification

Ocean acidification due to rising atmospheric pCO2 slows down coral calcification and impedes reef formation, with deleterious consequences for the diversity of reef ecosystems. Such interactions contrast with the capacity of corals to actively regulate the chemical composition of the calcifying fluid where calcification occurs. This regulation involves the active transport of calcium, bicarbonate, and hydrogen ions through epithelium cells, the transcellular pathway. Ions can also passively diffuse through intercellular spaces via the paracellular pathway, which directly exposes the calcifying fluid to changes in ocean chemistry. Although evidence exists for both pathways, their relative contribution to coral calcification remains unknown. Here we use a mathematical model to test the plausibility of different calcification mechanisms also in relation to ocean acidification. We find that the paracellular pathway generates an efflux of calcium and carbonate from the calcifying fluid, causing a leakage of ions that counteracts the concentration gradients maintained by the transcellular pathway. Increasing ocean acidity exacerbates this carbonate leakage and reduces the ability of corals to accrete calcium carbonate.

Incidence of marine debris in seabirds feeding at different water depths

Marine debris such as plastic fragments and fishing gears are accumulating in the ocean at alarming rates. This study assesses the incidence of debris in the gastrointestinal tracts of seabirds feeding at different depths and found stranded along the Brazilian coast in the period 2010-2013. More than half (55%) of the species analysed, corresponding to 16% of the total number of individuals, presented plastic particles in their gastrointestinal tracts. The incidence of debris was higher in birds feeding predominantly at intermediate (3-6m) and deep (20-100m) waters than those feeding at surface (<2m). These results suggest that studying the presence of debris in organisms mainly feeding at the ocean surface provides a limited view about the risks that this form of pollution has on marine life and highlight the ubiquitous and three-dimensional distribution of plastic in the oceans.

Phytoplankton size-diversity mediates an emergent trade-off in ecosystem functioning for rare versus frequent disturbances

Biodiversity is known to be an important determinant of ecosystem-level functions and processes. Although theories have been proposed to explain the generally positive relationship between, for example, biodiversity and productivity, it remains unclear which mechanisms underlie the observed variations in Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function (BEF) relationships. Using a continuous trait-distribution model for a phytoplankton community of gleaners competing with opportunists, and subjecting it to differing frequencies of disturbance, we find that species selection tends to enhance temporal species complementarity, which is maximised at high disturbance frequency and intermediate functional diversity. This leads to the emergence of a trade-off whereby increasing diversity tends to enhance short-term adaptive capacity under frequent disturbance while diminishing long-term productivity under infrequent disturbance. BEF relationships therefore depend on both disturbance frequency and the timescale of observation.

A glimpse into the future composition of marine phytoplankton communities

It is expected that climate change will have significant impacts on ecosystems. Most model projections agree that the ocean will experience stronger stratification and less nutrient supply from deep waters. These changes will likely affect marine phytoplankton communities and will thus impact on the higher trophic levels of the oceanic food web. The potential consequences of future climate change on marine microbial communities can be investigated and predicted only with the help of mathematical models. Here we present the application of a model that describes aggregate properties of marine phytoplankton communities and captures the effects of a changing environment on their composition and adaptive capacity. Specifically, the model describes the phytoplankton community in terms of total biomass, mean cell size, and functional diversity. The model is applied to two contrasting regions of the Atlantic Ocean (tropical and temperate) and is tested under two emission scenarios: SRES A2 or “business as usual” and SRES B1 or “local utopia.” We find that all three macroecological properties will decline during the next century in both regions, although this effect will be more pronounced in the temperate region. Being consistent with previous model predictions, our results show that a simple trait-based modeling framework represents a valuable tool for investigating how phytoplankton communities may reorganize under a changing climate.