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The role of the chaetognath Sagitta gazellae in the vertical carbon flux of the Southern Ocean

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Abstract

Chaetognaths are among the most abundant predators in the Southern Ocean and are potentially important components in the biological carbon pump due to the production of large, fast-sinking fecal pellets. In situ S. gazellae abundance, fecal pellet production, sinking rates, carbon content, and vertical carbon fluxes were measured at the Lazarev Sea between December 2005 and January 2006. Sagitta gazellae produce fecal pellets that sink at speeds of 33–600 m day−1 and have carbon contents of 0.01–0.8 mg C pellet−1. Vertical carbon flux was later compared with the total carbon flux measured at 360 m depth at the study area. Rough estimates using published seasonal abundance of S. gazellae indicate that, at 360 m depth in the Lazarev Sea, this specie may contribute 12 and 5% of the total vertical carbon flux in winter (ice-covered) and summer (ice-free), respectively. Thus, the role of chaetognaths in the downward transport of organic matter may be far more important than previously thought.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the crew and scientists of R/V ‘Polarstern’ for their help and support during the Lazarev Sea Krill Study (LAKRIS) project. To Dr. V. Siegel for providing RMT 1 + 8 zooplankton samples. The participation of RG was funded by a CONICYT doctoral fellowship, a DAAD fellowship and a POGO-IOC-SCOR travel-fellowship. Additional support from FONDAP-COPAS grant No. 15010007 and the Instituto Antártico Chileno made possible the post-cruise analysis of zooplankton samples grant Gabinete.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Oceanographic Research in the Eastern South Pacific (COPAS), COPAS Sur-Austral, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Ricardo Giesecke & Humberto E. González

  2. Graduate Program in Oceanography, Department of Oceanography, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Ricardo Giesecke

  3. Institute of Marine Biology “Jürgen Winter”, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Humberto E. González

  4. CIEP, Patagonia Ecosystems Research Center, Coyhaique, Chile

    Humberto E. González

  5. Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Ulrich Bathmann

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  1. Ricardo Giesecke
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  2. Humberto E. González
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  3. Ulrich Bathmann
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Correspondence to Ricardo Giesecke.

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Giesecke, R., González, H.E. & Bathmann, U. The role of the chaetognath Sagitta gazellae in the vertical carbon flux of the Southern Ocean. Polar Biol 33, 293–304 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0704-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0704-4

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