info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Glacial melt disturbance shifts community metabolism of an Antarctic seafloor ecosystem from net autotrophy to heterotrophy
Fecha
2021-01Registro en:
Braeckman, Ulrike; Pasotti, Francesca; Hoffmann, Ralf; Vázquez, Susana Claudia; Wulff, Angela; et al.; Glacial melt disturbance shifts community metabolism of an Antarctic seafloor ecosystem from net autotrophy to heterotrophy; Nature; Communications Biology; 4; 1; 1-2021; 1-11
2399-3642
CONICET Digital
CONICET
Autor
Braeckman, Ulrike
Pasotti, Francesca
Hoffmann, Ralf
Vázquez, Susana Claudia
Wulff, Angela
Schloss, Irene Ruth
Falk, Ulrike
Deregibus, Dolores
Lefaible, Nene
Torstensson, Anders
Al Handal, Adil
Wenzhöfer, Frank
Vanreusel, Ann
Resumen
Climate change-induced glacial melt affects benthic ecosystems along the West Antarctic Peninsula, but current understanding of the effects on benthic primary production and respiration is limited. Here we demonstrate with a series of in situ community metabolism measurements that climate-related glacial melt disturbance shifts benthic communities from net autotrophy to heterotrophy. With little glacial melt disturbance (during cold El Niño spring 2015), clear waters enabled high benthic microalgal production, resulting in net autotrophic benthic communities. In contrast, water column turbidity caused by increased glacial melt run-off (summer 2015 and warm La Niña spring 2016) limited benthic microalgal production and turned the benthic communities net heterotrophic. Ongoing accelerations in glacial melt and run-off may steer shallow Antarctic seafloor ecosystems towards net heterotrophy, altering the metabolic balance of benthic communities and potentially impacting the carbon balance and food webs at the Antarctic seafloor.