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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1227
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1227
29 Nov 2022
 | 29 Nov 2022

Model estimates of metazoans' contributions to the biological carbon pump

Jérôme Pinti, Tim DeVries, Tommy Norin, Camila Serra-Pompei, Roland Proud, David A. Siegel, Thomas Kiørboe, Colleen M. Petrik, Ken H. Andersen, Andrew S. Brierley, and Andre W. Visser

Abstract. The daily vertical migrations of fish and other metazoans actively transport organic carbon from the ocean surface to depth, contributing to the biological carbon pump. We use an oxygen-constrained, game-theoretic food-web model to simulate diel vertical migrations and estimate global carbon fluxes and sequestration by fish and zooplankton due to respiration, fecal pellets, and deadfalls. Our model provides estimates of the carbon export and sequestration potential for a range of pelagic functional groups, despite uncertain biomass estimates of some functional groups. While the export production of metazoans and fish is modest (∼20 % of global total), we estimate that their contribution to carbon sequestered by the biological pump (∼ 800 PgC) is conservatively more than 50 % of the estimated global total (∼1300 PgC) and have a significantly longer sequestration time scale (∼250 years) than previously reported for other components of the biological pump. Fish and multicellular zooplankton contribute about equally to this sequestered carbon pool. This essential ecosystem service could be at risk from both unregulated fishing on the high seas and ocean deoxygenation due to climate change.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

14 Mar 2023
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Model estimates of metazoans' contributions to the biological carbon pump
Jérôme Pinti, Tim DeVries, Tommy Norin, Camila Serra-Pompei, Roland Proud, David A. Siegel, Thomas Kiørboe, Colleen M. Petrik, Ken H. Andersen, Andrew S. Brierley, and André W. Visser
Biogeosciences, 20, 997–1009, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-997-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-997-2023, 2023
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

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Large numbers of marine organisms such as zooplankton and fish perform daily vertical migration...
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