Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

21 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Plankton biogeography in the North Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas: Species assemblages and environmental signatures.

ABSTRACT: Plankton biodiversity is a key component of marine pelagic ecosystems. They are at the base of the food web, control the productivity of marine ecosystems, and provide many provisioning and regulating ecological services. It is therefore important to understand how plankton are organized in both space and time. Here, we use data of varying taxonomic resolution, collected by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, to map phytoplankton and zooplankton biodiversity in the North Atlantic and its adjacent seas. We then decompose biodiversity into 24 species assemblages and investigate their spatial distribution using ecological units and ecoregions recently proposed. Finally, we propose a descriptive method, which we call the environmental chromatogram, to characterize the environmental signature of each plankton assemblage. The method is based on a graphic that identifies where species of an assemblage aggregate along an environmental gradient composed of multiple ecological dimensions. The decomposition of the biodiversity into species assemblages allows us to show (a) that most marine regions of the North Atlantic are composed of coenoclines (i.e., gradients of biocoenoses or communities) and (b) that the overlapping spatial distribution of assemblages is the result of their environmental signatures. It follows that neither the ecoregions nor the ecological units identified in the North Atlantic are characterized by a unique assemblage but instead by a mosaic of assemblages that overlap in many places.

SUBMITTER: Kleparski L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8131763 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Environmental control of marine phytoplankton stoichiometry in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Project description:The stoichiometric coupling of carbon to limiting nutrients in marine phytoplankton regulates the magnitude of biological carbon sequestration in the ocean. While clear links between plankton C:N ratios and environmental drivers have been identified, the nature and direction of these links, as well as their underlying physiological and ecological controls, remain uncertain. We show, with a well-constrained mechanistic model of plankton ecophysiology, that while nitrogen availability and temperature emerge as the main drivers of phytoplankton C:N stoichiometry in the North Atlantic, the biological mechanisms involved vary depending on the spatiotemporal scale and region considered. We find that phytoplankton C:N stoichiometry is overall controlled by nitrogen availability below 40° N, predominantly driven by ecoevolutionary shifts in the functional composition of the phytoplankton communities, while phytoplankton stoichiometric plasticity in response to dropping temperatures and increased grazing pressure dominates at higher latitudes. Our findings highlight the potential of "organisms-to-ecosystems" modeling approaches based on mechanistic models of plankton biology accounting for physiology, ecology, and trait evolution to explore and explain complex observational data and ultimately improve the predictions of global ocean models.

| S-EPMC8740720 | biostudies-literature

The Ocean Gene Atlas: exploring the biogeography of plankton genes online.

Project description:The Ocean Gene Atlas is a web service to explore the biogeography of genes from marine planktonic organisms. It allows users to query protein or nucleotide sequences against global ocean reference gene catalogs. With just one click, the abundance and location of target sequences are visualized on world maps as well as their taxonomic distribution. Interactive results panels allow for adjusting cutoffs for alignment quality and displaying the abundances of genes in the context of environmental features (temperature, nutrients, etc.) measured at the time of sampling. The ease of use enables non-bioinformaticians to explore quantitative and contextualized information on genes of interest in the global ocean ecosystem. Currently the Ocean Gene Atlas is deployed with (i) the Ocean Microbial Reference Gene Catalog (OM-RGC) comprising 40 million non-redundant mostly prokaryotic gene sequences associated with both Tara Oceans and Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) gene abundances and (ii) the Marine Atlas of Tara Ocean Unigenes (MATOU) composed of >116 million eukaryote unigenes. Additional datasets will be added upon availability of further marine environmental datasets that provide the required complement of sequence assemblies, raw reads and contextual environmental parameters. Ocean Gene Atlas is a freely-available web service at: http://tara-oceans.mio.osupytheas.fr/ocean-gene-atlas/.

| S-EPMC6030836 | biostudies-literature

Genomic evidence for global ocean plankton biogeography shaped by large-scale current systems.

Project description:Biogeographical studies have traditionally focused on readily visible organisms, but recent technological advances are enabling analyses of the large-scale distribution of microscopic organisms, whose biogeographical patterns have long been debated. Here we assessed the global structure of plankton geography and its relation to the biological, chemical, and physical context of the ocean (the 'seascape') by analyzing metagenomes of plankton communities sampled across oceans during the Tara Oceans expedition, in light of environmental data and ocean current transport. Using a consistent approach across organismal sizes that provides unprecedented resolution to measure changes in genomic composition between communities, we report a pan-ocean, size-dependent plankton biogeography overlying regional heterogeneity. We found robust evidence for a basin-scale impact of transport by ocean currents on plankton biogeography, and on a characteristic timescale of community dynamics going beyond simple seasonality or life history transitions of plankton.

| S-EPMC9348854 | biostudies-literature

Environmental predictors of habitat suitability and occurrence of cetaceans in the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Project description:The objective of this study was to identify the main environmental covariates related to the abundance of 17 cetacean species/groups in the western North Atlantic Ocean based on generalized additive models, to establish a current habitat suitability baseline, and to estimate abundance that incorporates habitat characteristics. Habitat models were developed from dedicated sighting survey data collected by NOAA- Northeast and Southeast Fisheries Science Centers during July 2010 to August 2013. A group of 7 static physiographic characteristics and 9 dynamic environmental covariates were included in the models. For the small cetacean models, the explained deviance ranged from 16% to 69%. For the large whale models, the explained deviance ranged from 32% to 52.5%. Latitude, sea surface temperature, bottom temperature, primary productivity and distance to the coast were the most common covariates included and their individual contribution to the deviance explained ranged from 5.9% to 18.5%. The habitat-density models were used to produce seasonal average abundance estimates and habitat suitability maps that provided a good correspondence with observed sighting locations and historical sightings for each species in the study area. Thus, these models, maps and abundance estimates established a current habitat characterization of cetacean species in these waters and have the potential to be used to support management decisions and conservation measures in a marine spatial planning context.

| S-EPMC6456503 | biostudies-literature

Diversity and distribution of marine microbial eukaryotes in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas.

Project description:We analyzed microbial eukaryote diversity in perennially cold arctic marine waters by using 18S rRNA gene clone libraries. Samples were collected during concurrent oceanographic missions to opposite sides of the Arctic Ocean Basin and encompassed five distinct water masses. Two deep water Arctic Ocean sites and the convergence of the Greenland, Norwegian, and Barents Seas were sampled from 28 August to 2 September 2002. An additional sample was obtained from the Beaufort Sea (Canada) in early October 2002. The ribotypes were diverse, with different communities among sites and between the upper mixed layer and just below the halocline. Eukaryotes from the remote Canada Basin contained new phylotypes belonging to the radiolarian orders Acantharea, Polycystinea, and Taxopodida. A novel group within the photosynthetic stramenopiles was also identified. One sample closest to the interior of the Canada Basin yielded only four major taxa, and all but two of the sequences recovered belonged to the polar diatom Fragilariopsis and a radiolarian. Overall, 42% of the sequences were <98% similar to any sequences in GenBank. Moreover, 15% of these were <95% similar to previously recovered sequences, which is indicative of endemic or undersampled taxa in the North Polar environment. The cold, stable Arctic Ocean is a threatened environment, and climate change could result in significant loss of global microbial biodiversity.

| S-EPMC1472370 | biostudies-literature

Environmental vulnerability of the global ocean epipelagic plankton community interactome.

Project description:Marine plankton form complex communities of interacting organisms at the base of the food web, which sustain oceanic biogeochemical cycles and help regulate climate. Although global surveys are starting to reveal ecological drivers underlying planktonic community structure and predicted climate change responses, it is unclear how community-scale species interactions will be affected by climate change. Here, we leveraged Tara Oceans sampling to infer a global ocean cross-domain plankton co-occurrence network-the community interactome-and used niche modeling to assess its vulnerabilities to environmental change. Globally, this revealed a plankton interactome self-organized latitudinally into marine biomes (Trades, Westerlies, Polar) and more connected poleward. Integrated niche modeling revealed biome-specific community interactome responses to environmental change and forecasted the most affected lineages for each community. These results provide baseline approaches to assess community structure and organismal interactions under climate scenarios while identifying plausible plankton bioindicators for ocean monitoring of climate change.

| S-EPMC8397264 | biostudies-literature

Ciguatera-Causing Dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus spp. (Dinophyceae) in a Subtropical Region of North Atlantic Ocean (Canary Islands): Morphological Characterization and Biogeography.

Project description:Dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Gambierdiscus produce ciguatoxins (CTXs), which are metabolized in fish to more toxic forms and subsequently cause ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in humans. Five species of Gambierdiscus have been described from the Canary Islands, where CTXs in fish have been reported since 2004. Here we present new data on the distribution of Gambierdiscus species in the Canary archipelago and specifically from two islands, La Palma and La Gomera, where the genus had not been previously reported. Gambierdiscus spp. concentrations were low, with maxima of 88 and 29 cells·g-1 wet weight in samples from La Gomera and La Palma, respectively. Molecular analysis (LSUrRNA gene sequences) revealed differences in the species distribution between the two islands: only G. excentricus was detected at La Palma whereas four species, G. australes, G. caribaeus, G. carolinianus, and G. excentricus, were identified from La Gomera. Morphometric analyses of cultured cells of the five Canary Islands species and of field specimens from La Gomera included cell size and a characterization of three thecal arrangement traits: (1) the shape of the 2' plate, (2) the position of Po in the anterior suture of the 2' plate, and (3) the length-width relationship of the 2″″ plate. Despite the wide morphological variability within the culture and field samples, the use of two or more variables allowed the discrimination of two species in the La Gomera samples: G. cf. excentricus and G. cf. silvae. A comparison of the molecular data with the morphologically based classification demonstrated important coincidences, such as the dominance of G. excentricus, but also differences in the species composition of Gambierdiscus, as G. caribaeus was detected in the study area only by using molecular methods.

| S-EPMC6669716 | biostudies-literature

Heat content variability in the North Atlantic Ocean in ocean reanalyses.

Project description:Warming of the North Atlantic Ocean from the 1950s to 2012 is analyzed on neutral density surfaces and vertical levels in the upper 2000?m. Three reanalyses and two observational data sets are compared. The net gain of 5?×?1022?J in the upper 2000?m is roughly 30% of the global ocean warming over this period. Upper ocean heat content (OHC) is dominated in most regions by heat transport convergence without widespread changes in the potential temperature/salinity relation. The heat convergence is associated with sinking of midthermocline isopycnals, with maximum sinking occurring at potential densities ?0?=?26.4-27.3, which contain subtropical mode waters. Water masses lighter than ?0?=?27.3 accumulate heat by increasing their volume, while heavier waters lose heat by decreasing their volume. Spatially, the OHC trend is nonuniform: the low latitudes, 0-30°N are warming steadily while large multidecadal variability occurs at latitudes 30-65°N.Key pointsHeat content change dominated by heat transport convergence Due to widespread sinking trend of midthermocline isopycnals over 50+ years.

| S-EPMC4681455 | biostudies-literature

Increased Indian Ocean-North Atlantic Ocean warming chain under greenhouse warming.

Project description:Over the past half a century, both the Indian Ocean (IO) and the North Atlantic Ocean (NA) exhibit strong warming trends like a global mean surface temperature (SST). Here, we show that not only simply as a result of increased greenhouse gases, but the IO-NA interaction through atmospheric teleconnection boosts up their warming trends. Climate model simulations demonstrate that the IO warming increases the NA SST by enhancing the longwave radiation through atmospheric teleconnection, subsequently, the warmer NA SST-induced atmospheric teleconnection leads to IO warming by reducing evaporative cooling with weakened surface winds. This two-way interaction (i.e., IO-NA warming chain) acts as positive feedback that reinforces warming over both ocean basins. The Pacific Ocean is partly involved in this warming chain as a modulator in an interdecadal timescale. These results highlight the importance of understanding ocean-basin interactions that may provide a more accurate future projection of warming.

| S-EPMC9270466 | biostudies-literature

Conservation hotspots for the turtles on the high seas of the Atlantic Ocean.

Project description:Understanding the distribution of bycaught sea turtles could inform conservation strategies and priorities. This research analyses the distribution of turtles caught as longline fisheries bycatch on the high seas of the Atlantic Ocean. This research collected 18,142 bycatch observations and 47.1 million hooks from large-scale Taiwanese longline vessels in the Atlantic Ocean from June 2002 to December 2013. The coverage rates were ranged from 0.48% to 17.54% by year. Seven hundred and sixty-seven turtles were caught, and the major species were leatherback (59.8%), olive ridley (27.1%) and loggerhead turtles (8.7%). Most olive ridley (81.7%) and loggerhead (82.1%) turtles were hooked, while the leatherbacks were both hooked (44.0%) and entangled (31.8%). Depending on the species, 21.4% to 57.7% were dead when brought onboard. Most of the turtles were caught in tropical areas, especially in the Gulf of Guinea (15°N-10°S, 30°W-10°E), but loggerheads were caught in the south Atlantic Ocean (25°S-35°S, 40°W-10°E and 30°S-40°S, 55°W-45°W). The bycatch rate was the highest at 0.030 per 1000 hooks for leatherbacks in the tropical area. The bycatch rates of olive ridley ranged from 0 to 0.010 per thousand hooks. The loggerhead bycatch rates were higher in the northern and southern Atlantic Ocean and ranged from 0.0128 to 0.0239 per thousand hooks. Due to the characteristics of the Taiwanese deep-set longline fleet, bycatch rates were lower than those of coastal longline fisheries, but mortality rates were higher because of the long hours of operation. Gear and bait modification should be considered to reduce sea turtle bycatch and increase survival rates while reducing the use of shallow hooks would also be helpful.

| S-EPMC4534298 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data