Unveiling pelagic-benthic coupling associated with the biological carbon pump in the Fram Strait (Arctic Ocean)

Simon Ramondenc (), Damien Eveillard, Katja Metfies, Morten H. Iversen, Eva-Maria Nöthig, Dieter Piepenburg, Christiane Hasemann and Thomas Soltwedel
Additional contact information
Simon Ramondenc: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Damien Eveillard: Ecole Centrale Nantes
Katja Metfies: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Morten H. Iversen: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Eva-Maria Nöthig: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Dieter Piepenburg: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Christiane Hasemann: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Thomas Soltwedel: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Settling aggregates transport organic matter from the ocean surface to the deep sea and seafloor. Though plankton communities impact carbon export, how specific organisms and their interactions affect export efficiency is unknown. Looking at 15 years of eDNA sequences (18S-V4) from settling and sedimented organic matter in the Fram Strait, here we observe that most phylogenetic groups were transferred from pelagic to benthic ecosystems. Chaetoceros socialis, sea-ice diatoms, Radiolaria, and Chaetognatha are critical components of vertical carbon flux to 200 m depth. In contrast, the diatom C. socialis alone is essential for the amount of organic carbon reaching the seafloor. Spatiotemporal changes in community composition show decreasing diatom abundance during warm anomalies, which would reduce the efficiency of a diatom-driven biological carbon pump. Interestingly, several parasites are also tightly associated with carbon flux and show a strong vertical connectivity, suggesting a potential role in sedimentation processes involving their hosts, especially through interactions with resting spores, which could have implications for pelagic-benthic coupling and overall ecosystem functioning.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55221-x Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-55221-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55221-x

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().