Krill and salp faecal pellets contribute equally to the carbon flux at the Antarctic Peninsula

Nora-Charlotte Pauli (), Clara M. Flintrop, Christian Konrad, Evgeny A. Pakhomov, Steffen Swoboda, Florian Koch, Xin-Liang Wang, Ji-Chang Zhang, Andrew S. Brierley, Matteo Bernasconi, Bettina Meyer () and Morten H. Iversen ()
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Nora-Charlotte Pauli: Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
Clara M. Flintrop: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Christian Konrad: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Evgeny A. Pakhomov: University of British Columbia
Steffen Swoboda: MARUM and University of Bremen
Florian Koch: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Xin-Liang Wang: Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences
Ji-Chang Zhang: Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences
Andrew S. Brierley: University of St Andrews
Matteo Bernasconi: University of St Andrews
Bettina Meyer: Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
Morten H. Iversen: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Krill and salps are important for carbon flux in the Southern Ocean, but the extent of their contribution and the consequences of shifts in dominance from krill to salps remain unclear. We present a direct comparison of the contribution of krill and salp faecal pellets (FP) to vertical carbon flux at the Antarctic Peninsula using a combination of sediment traps, FP production, carbon content, microbial degradation, and krill and salp abundances. Salps produce 4-fold more FP carbon than krill, but the FP from both species contribute equally to the carbon flux at 300 m, accounting for 75% of total carbon. Krill FP are exported to 72% to 300 m, while 80% of salp FP are retained in the mixed layer due to fragmentation. Thus, declining krill abundances could lead to decreased carbon flux, indicating that the Antarctic Peninsula could become a less efficient carbon sink for anthropogenic CO2 in future.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27436-9

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