Publications

Effect of viruses and protists on bacteria in eddies of the Canary Current region (subtropical northeast Atlantic)

The effect of oceanic eddies on microbial processes, with emphasis on bacterial losses due to protists and phages, was examined in the Canary Current region (subtropical northeast Atlantic) through the water column (down to 1000 m) during August 2006. Sampling stations were located in cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies, as well as in regions situated outside the influence of the eddy field (far‐field stations). In the euphotic zone, in cyclonic eddies losses of bacteria due to viruses and protists were from 25.6% to 69.8%, and from not detected to 46.8% of bacterial production (BP) d −1 , respectively. In anticyclonic eddies, these values ranged from 20.6% to 90.2% of BP d −1 for viruses, and from 8.0% to 79.4% of BP d −1 for protists. At far‐field stations, losses of bacteria ranged from 48.7% to 66.9% for viruses, and from not detected to 44.8% for protists. In addition, covering all stations and depths (from the epipelagic to the bathypelagic layer), bacterial losses due to viruses were significantly higher than losses by protists, and did not differ significantly among depths except for the stations situated in anticyclonic eddies, where they were significantly higher in the epipelagic layer. Lysogenic infection was more frequent at anticyclonic stations, where the highest pressure of protists on bacteria was observed. Because of the importance of viral activity, we suggest that lysis products from bacteria may be a source of regenerated nutrients in the surface of the oligotrophic ocean, in addition to the input of nutrients upwelled by eddies.

Seagrass Distribution, Composition and Abundance Along the Saudi Arabian Coast of Red Sea

Light regulation of benthic sulfate reduction rates mediated by seagrass (Thalassia testudinum) metabolism

Susan Lynn Williams: the Life of an Exceptional Scholar, Leader, and Friend (1951–2018)

Abstract Susan Lynn Williams (1951–2018) was an exceptional marine ecologist whose research focused broadly on the ecology of benthic nearshore environments dominated by seagrasses, seaweeds, and coral reefs. She took an empirical approach founded in techniques of physiological ecology. Susan was committed to applying her research results to ocean management through outreach to decision-makers and resource managers. Susan’s career included research throughout the USA in tropical, temperate, and polar regions, but she specialized in tropical marine ecology. Susan’s scholarship, leadership, and friendship touched many people, leading to this multi-authored paper. Susan’s scholarship was multi-faceted, and she excelled in scientific discovery, integration of scientific results, application of science for conservation, and teaching, especially as a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Susan served in a variety of leadership positions throughout her career. She embodied all facets of leadership; leading by example, listening to others, committing to the “long haul,” maintaining trust, and creating a platform for all to shine. Susan was an important role model for women in science. Susan was also a loyal friend, maintaining friendships for many decades. Susan loved cooking and entertaining with friends. This paper provides an overview of the accomplishments of Susan in the broad categories of scholarship, leadership, and friendship.

Seagrass community metabolism: Assessing the carbon sink capacity of seagrass meadows

The metabolic rates of seagrass communities were synthesized on the basis of a data set on seagrass community metabolism containing 403 individual estimates derived from a total of 155 different sites. Gross primary production (GPP) rates (mean ± SE = 224.9 ± 11.1 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 ) tended to be significantly higher than the corresponding respiration (R) rates (mean ± SE = 187.6 ± 10.1 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 ), indicating that seagrass meadows tend to be autotrophic ecosystems, reflected in a positive mean net community production (NCP 27.2 ± 5.8 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 ) and a mean P/R ratio above 1 (1.55 ± 0.13). Tropical seagrass meadows tended to support higher metabolic rates and somewhat lower NCP than temperate ones. The P/R ratio tended to increase with increasing GPP, exceeding, on average, the value of 1 indicative of metabolic balance for communities supporting a GPP greater than 186 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 , on average. The global NCP of seagrass meadows ranged (95% confidence limits of mean values) from 20.73 to 50.69 Tg C yr −1 considering a low global seagrass area of 300,000 km 2 and 41.47 to 101.39 Tg C yr −1 when a high estimate of global seagrass area of 600,000 km 2 was considered. The global loss of 29% of the seagrass area represents, therefore, a major loss of intense natural carbon sinks in the biosphere.

Supplementary material from " Tropical seagrass $\textit{Halophila stipulacea}$ shifts thermal tolerance during Mediterranean invasion"

Marine heatwaves drive recurrent mass mortalities in the Mediterranean Sea

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves (MHWs) and mass mortality events (MMEs) of marine organisms are one of their main ecological impacts. Here, we show that during the 2015-2019 period, the Mediterranean Sea has experienced exceptional thermal conditions resulting in the onset of five consecutive years of widespread MMEs across the basin. These MMEs affected thousands of kilometers of coastline from the surface to 45 m, across a range of marine habitats and taxa (50 taxa across 8 phyla). Significant relationships were found between the incidence of MMEs and the heat exposure associated with MHWs observed both at the surface and across depths. Our findings reveal that the Mediterranean Sea is experiencing an acceleration of the ecological impacts of MHWs which poses an unprecedented threat to its ecosystems' health and functioning. Overall, we show that increasing the resolution of empirical observation is critical to enhancing our ability to more effectively understand and manage the consequences of climate change.

Accelerated burial of petroleum hydrocarbons in Arabian Gulf blue carbon repositories

Massive consumption of petroleum since the past century has led to considerable emissions into marine ecosystems. Marine sediments may accumulate substantial quantities of petroleum and associated contaminants in oil-producing areas. Here, we report accelerated accumulation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in 'blue carbon' vegetated ecosystems of the Arabian Gulf - the world's most important region for oil production. In addition to increased accumulation with the onset of oil exploitation, sediment records reflect a large depositional event associated with the 1991 Gulf War, with the magnitude of these maxima varying across habitats, depending on their elevation along the shoreline. Blue carbon ecosystems of the Arabian Gulf currently bury about 2300 megagrams (Mg) of TPHs annually and have accumulated TPH stocks of 59,799 Mg over the past 25 years alone. Massive burial and sequestration of TPH by blue carbon ecosystems is an important, but thus far unrecognized, removal mechanism in the Arabian Gulf. Conserving these ecosystems is important to avoid possible remobilization of sequestered TPH into the surrounding environment.

Light availability in the coastal ocean: impact on the distribution of benthic photosynthetic organisms and contribution to primary production

Abstract. One of the major features of the coastal zone is that part of its sea floor receives a significant amount of sunlight and can therefore sustain benthic primary production by seagrasses, macroalgae, microphytobenthos and corals. However, the contribution of benthic communities to the primary production of the global coastal ocean is not known, partly because the surface area where benthic primary production can proceed is poorly quantified. Here, we use a new analysis of satellite (SeaWiFS) data collected between 1998 and 2003 to estimate, for the first time at a nearly global scale, the irradiance reaching the bottom of the coastal ocean. The following cumulative functions provide the percentage of the surface of the coastal zone receiving an irradiance greater than Ez: PaNon-polar=28.80−16.69 log10(Ez)+0.84 log102(Ez)+0.83 log103(Ez) PaArctic=16.01−15.67 log10(Ez)+2.03 log102(Ez)+1.00 log103(Ez) Data on the constraint of light availability on the major benthic primary producers and net primary production are reviewed. Some photosynthetic organisms can grow deeper than the nominal bottom limit of the coastal ocean (200 m). The minimum irradiance required varies from 0.4 to 5.1 mol photons m−2 d−1 depending on the group considered. The daily compensation irradiance of benthic communities ranges from 0.24 to 4.4 mol photons m−2 d−1. Data on benthic irradiance and light requirements are combined to estimate the surface area of the coastal ocean where (1) light does not limit the distribution of primary producers and (2) net community production (NCP, the balance between gross primary production and respiration) is positive. Positive benthic NCP can occur over 37% of the global shelf area. The limitations of this approach, related to the spatial resolution of the satellite data, the parameterization used to convert reflectance data to irradiance, and the relatively limited biological information available, are discussed.

Additional file 5 of Dead-reckoning animal movements in R: a reappraisal using Gundog.Tracks

Additional file 5. Step by step guide of using Gundog.Tracks (.R file) (to use in conjunction with below).

The H.T. Odum synthesis essay, a new section in estuaries

The Ocean Genome: Conservation and the Fair, Equitable and Sustainable Use of Marine Genetic Resources

Effects of temperature on the metabolic stoichiometry of Arctic zooplankton

Abstract. We assessed the relationship between zooplankton metabolism (respiration and inorganic N and P excretion) and "in situ" temperature through a grid of stations representing a range of natural temperature variation during the ATOS-Arctic cruise (July 2007). The objective was to explore not only the direct effects of temperature on zooplankton carbon respiratory losses (hereafter CR) and NH4-N and PO4-P excretion rates (hereafter NE and PE, respectively), but also to investigate whether these metabolic pathways responded similarly to temperature, and so how temperature could affect the stoichiometry of the metabolic products. Metabolic rates, normalised to per unit of zooplankton carbon biomass, increased with increasing temperature following the Arrhenius equation. However, the activation energy differed for the various metabolic processes considered. Respiration, CR, was the metabolic activity least affected by temperature, followed by NE and PE, and as a consequence the values of the CR : NE, CR : PE and NE : PE atomic quotients were inversely related to temperature. The effects of temperature on the stoichiometry of the excreted N and P products would contribute to modifying the nutrient pool available for phytoplankton and induce qualitative and quantitative shifts in the size, community structure and chemical composition of primary producers that could possibly translate to the whole Arctic marine food web.

Seagrass architectural features

The few members of the angiosperm flora that have succeeded in adapting to submersed life in the sea share a common architecture, all species being clonal, rhizomatous plants. This clonal nature has been interpreted as a necessary adaptation for angiosperm growth in the high-energy marine environment (Sculthorpe, 1967). A consequence of the clonal nature of the seagrasses is that they display a highly ordered growth programme (Tomlinson, 1974), developed through the regular addition of the basic set of modules. Thus, a general understanding of the design of seagrasses will provide insight into their growth patterns (Patriquin, 1973, 1975; Tomlinson, 1974; Sand-Jensen, 1975; Duarte & Sand-Jensen, 1990; Duarte et al., 1994). Although the repertoire of architecture and associated growth programmes that seagrasses display is certainly narrow, they contain sufficient plasticity to yield order-of-magnitude variability in the clonal growth between individual shoots of seagrass species (Marbà & Duarte, 1998), as well as in their reproduction and dispersal. Even within a species, the plasticity of its growth programme and architecture allows the plants to cope with stress and heterogeneity in the environment, as has been extensively documented for land plants. This plasticity is also a central trait in the ecology of seagrasses.

The Ocean in Figures

The restoration imperative to achieve a sustainable ocean economy nobody foretold in 1871

Sinking seaweed in the deep ocean for carbon neutrality is ahead of science and beyond the ethics

Abstract Sinking vast amounts of seaweed in the deep ocean is currently being proposed as a promising ocean carbon dioxide removal strategy as well as a natural-based solution to mitigate climate change. Still, marketable carbon offsets through large-scale seaweed sinking in the deep ocean lack documentation and could involve unintended environmental and social consequences. Managing the risks requires a number of urgent actions.

Warming enhances carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from Red Sea seagrass (<i>Halophila stipulacea</i>) sediments

Abstract. Seagrass meadows are autotrophic ecosystems acting as carbon sinks, but they have also been shown to be sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Seagrasses can be negatively affected by increasing seawater temperatures, but the effects of warming on CO2 and CH4 fluxes in seagrass meadows have not yet been reported. Here, we examine the effect of two disturbances on air–seawater fluxes of CO2 and CH4 in Red Sea Halophila stipulacea communities compared to adjacent unvegetated sediments using cavity ring-down spectroscopy. We first characterized CO2 and CH4 fluxes in vegetated and adjacent unvegetated sediments, and then experimentally examined their response, along with that of the carbon (C) isotopic signature of CO2 and CH4, to gradual warming from 25 ∘C (winter seawater temperature) to 37 ∘C, 2 ∘C above current maximum temperature. In addition, we assessed the response to prolonged darkness, thereby providing insights into the possible role of suppressing plant photosynthesis in supporting CO2 and CH4 fluxes. We detected 6-fold-higher CO2 fluxes in vegetated compared to bare sediments, as well as 10- to 100-fold-higher CH4 fluxes. Warming led to an increase in net CO2 and CH4 fluxes, reaching average fluxes of 10 422.18 ± 2570.12 µmol CO2 m−2 d−1 and 88.11±15.19 µmol CH4 m−2 d−1, while CO2 and CH4 fluxes decreased over time in sediments maintained at 25 ∘C. Prolonged darkness led to an increase in CO2 fluxes but a decrease in CH4 fluxes in vegetated sediments. These results add to previous research identifying Red Sea seagrass meadows as a significant source of CH4, while also indicating that sublethal warming may lead to increased emissions of greenhouse gases from seagrass meadows, providing a feedback mechanism that may contribute to further enhancing global warming.