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Dissolved organic carbon contribution to oxygen respiration in the central Red Sea.

ABSTRACT: In oligotrophic waters, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is mostly produced in the surface layers by phytoplankton and remineralized by heterotrophic prokaryotes throughout the water column. DOC surface excess is subducted and exported to deeper layers where a semi-labile fraction is further processed contributing to oxygen consumption. How this cycling of DOC occurs in the Red Sea, one of the warmest oligotrophic marine basins, is virtually unknown. We examined DOC vertical and seasonal variability in a mesopelagic station (ca. 700?m depth) of the central Red Sea performing monthly profile samplings over a two-year period. Together with DOC vertical and seasonal distribution we evaluated the interaction with heterotrophic prokaryotes and contribution to oxygen respiration. DOC values ranged from 41.4 to 95.4 µmol C L^-1, with concentrations in the epipelagic (70.0?±?7.5 µmol C L^-1) 40% higher on average than in the mesopelagic (50.7?±?4.1 µmol C L^-1). Subduction of seasonally accumulated semi-labile DOC was estimated to be responsible for ?20% of the oxygen consumption mostly occurring at the low epipelagic-upper mesopelagic boundary layer. Variability in mesopelagic waters was higher than expected (ca. 20 µmol C L^-1) evidencing a more active realm than previously thought, with consequences for carbon sequestration.

SUBMITTER: Calleja ML

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6423344 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dissolved organic carbon contribution to oxygen respiration in the central Red Sea.

Calleja Maria Ll ML Al-Otaibi Najwa N Morán Xosé Anxelu G XAG Morán Xosé Anxelu G XAG

Scientific reports 20190318 1

In oligotrophic waters, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is mostly produced in the surface layers by phytoplankton and remineralized by heterotrophic prokaryotes throughout the water column. DOC surface excess is subducted and exported to deeper layers where a semi-labile fraction is further processed contributing to oxygen consumption. How this cycling of DOC occurs in the Red Sea, one of the warmest oligotrophic marine basins, is virtually unknown. We examined DOC vertical and seasonal variabili ...[more]

PMID: 30886181

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Project description:Background:Mono-specific aquaculture effluents contain high concentrations of nutrients and organic matter, which affect negatively the water quality of the recipient ecosystems. A fundamental feature of water quality is its transparency. The fraction of dissolved organic matter that absorbs light is named chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). A sustainable alternative to mono-specific aquaculture is the multitrophic aquaculture that includes species trophically complementary named "extractive" species that uptake the waste byproducts. Sea cucumbers are recognized as efficient extractive species due to the consumption of particulate organic matter (POM). However, the effects of sea cucumbers on CDOM are still unknown. Methods:During more than one year, we monitored CDOM in two big-volume tanks with different trophic structure. One of the tanks (-holothurian) only contained around 810 individuals of Anemonia sulcata, whereas the other tank (+holothurian) also included 90 individuals of Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria forskali. We routinely analyzed CDOM absorption spectra and determined quantitative (absorption coefficients at 325 nm) and qualitative (spectral slopes) optical parameters in the inlet waters, within the tanks, and in their corresponding effluents. To confirm the time-series results, we also performed three experiments. Each experiment consisted of two treatments: +holothurians (+H) and -holothurians (-H). We set up three +H tanks with 80 individuals of A. sulcata and 10 individuals of H. tubulosa in each tank and four -H tanks that contained only 80 individuals of A. sulcata. Results:In the time-series, absorption coefficients at 325 nm (a325) and spectral slopes from 275 to 295 nm (S275-295) were significantly lower in the effluent of the +holothurian tank (average: 0.33 m-1 and 16 µm-1, respectively) than in the effluent of the -holothurian tank (average: 0.69 m-1 and 34 µm-1, respectively), the former being similar to those found in the inlet waters (average: 0.32 m-1 and 22 µm-1, respectively). This reduction in the absorption of the dissolved organic matter appears to be mediated by the POM consumption by holothurians. The experiments confirmed the results observed in the time-series. The a325 and S275-295 values were significantly lower in the treatment with holothurians than in the treatment without holothurians indicating a reduction in the concentration of chromophoric organic compounds, particularly of low molecular weight. Discussion:Consequently, sea cucumbers appear to improve water transparency in aquaculture tanks. The underlying mechanism of this improvement might be related to the POM consumption by holothurians, which reduces the concentration of CDOM derived from POM disaggregation or to the direct assimilation of dissolved compounds of low molecular weight as chromophoric amino acids.

Dataset Information

Dissolved organic carbon contribution to oxygen respiration in the central Red Sea.

Publications

Dissolved organic carbon contribution to oxygen respiration in the central Red Sea.

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