Global change and the biogeochemistry of the North Sea: the possible role of phytoplankton and phytoplankton grazing |
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| Authors: | Justus E E van Beusekom Sabine Diel-Christiansen |
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| Institution: | (1) Wadden Sea Station Sylt, Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Hafenstrasse 43, 25992 List/Sylt, Germany;(2) Slipstek 41, 21129 Hamburg, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Phytoplankton plays a dominant role in shelf biogeochemistry by producing the major part of organic matter. Part of the organic
matter will reach the sediment where diagenetic processes like denitrification, apatite formation or burial will remove nutrients
from the biogeochemical cycle. In this article current knowledge on the decadal plankton variability in the North Sea is summarized
and possible implications of these changes for the biogeochemistry of the North Sea are discussed. Most of the observed interdecadal
dynamics seem to be linked to large-scale oceanographic and atmospheric processes. Prominent changes in the North Sea ecosystem
have taken place around 1979 and 1988. In general, the phytoplankton color (CPRS indicator of phytoplankton biomass) reached
minimum values during the end of the 1970s and has increased especially since the mid 1980s. Changes with a similar timing
have been identified in many time series from the North Sea through the entire ecosystem and are sometimes referred to as
regime shifts. It is suggested that the impact of global change on the local biogeochemistry is largely driven by the phyto-
and zooplankton dynamics during spring and early summer. At that time the extent of zooplankton–phytoplankton interaction
either allows that a large part of the new production is settling to the sediment, or that a significant part of the new production
including the fixed nutrients is kept within the pelagic system. The origin of the extent of the phytoplankton–zooplankton
interaction in spring is probably set in the previous autumn and winter. In coastal areas, both large-scale atmospheric and
oceanographic changes as well as anthropogenic factors influence the long-term dynamics. Due to eutrophication, local primary
production nowadays still is up to five times higher than during pre-industrial conditions, despite a decreasing trend. Recently,
introduced species have strengthened the filter feeder component of coastal ecosystems. Especially in shallow coastal seas
like the Wadden Sea, this will enhance particle retention, shift organic matter degradation to the benthic compartment and
enhance nutrient removal from the biogeochemical cycle by denitrification or apatite formation. |
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| Keywords: | Phytoplankton– zooplankton interaction Climate change Biogeochemistry Shelf seas North Sea |
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