Quantitative analysis of food web dynamics in a low export ecosystem
Authors: McNair Heather M. , Meyer Meredith G. , Lerch Sarah J. , Maas Amy E. , Stephens Brandon M. , Fox James , Buck Kristen N. , Burns Shannon M. , Cetinić Ivona , Cohn Melanie , Durkin Colleen , Gifford Scott , Gong Weida , Graff Jason R. , Jenkins Bethany , Jones Erin L. , Santoro Alyson E. , Shea Connor H. , Stamieszkin Karen , Steinberg Deborah K. , Marchetti Adrian , Carlson Craig A. , Menden-Deuer Susanne , Brzezinski Mark A. , Siegel David A. , Rynearson Tatiana A. 
Published: March 2023

Food webs trace the flow of organic matter and energy among producers and consumers; for pelagic marine food webs, network complexity directly influences the amount and form of carbon exported to the deep ocean via the biological pump. Here we present a synoptic view of mixed layer food web dynamics observed during the late summer 2018 EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) field campaign in the subarctic Northeast Pacific at the long-running time-series site, Ocean Station Papa. Carbon biomass reservoirs of phytoplankton, microzooplankton, and bacterioplankton, were approximately equal while mesozooplankton biomass was 70% lower. Live organisms composed ∼40% of the total particulate organic carbon within the mixed layer: the remainder was attributed to detritus. Rates of carbon transfer among reservoirs indicated production and assimilation rates were well balanced by losses, leaving little organic carbon available for export. The slight positive net community production rate generated organic carbon that was exported from the system in the form of food web byproducts, such as large fecal pellets generated by mesozooplankton. This characteristically regenerative food web had relatively slow turnover times with small-magnitude transfers of carbon relative to standing stocks that occurred amidst a high background concentration of detrital particles and dissolved organic matter. The concurrent estimation of food web components and rates revealed that separated processes dominated the transfer of carbon within the food web compared to those that contributed to export.

Plain Language Summary

The biological carbon pump drives a downward flux of organic matter from the sunlit surface ocean to the vast ocean interior. Ecological interactions in the surface ocean directly affect the amount and type of carbon that is exported to the deep ocean. In this study, we present a synthesis of the late summer mixed layer food web in the Northeast Pacific that was extensively characterized during the 2018 EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) field campaign. We found the majority of carbon was recycled within the mixed layer by microbes through multiple transfers between producers and consumers. Larger organisms, mesozooplankton and salps, only consumed a small amount of carbon but through the formation of sinking fecal pellets were the main mechanism of transporting carbon out of the system. The study highlights the need to concurrently study microbial and large organism dynamics to develop a predictive understanding of the fate of organic carbon in the oceans.

Key Points

The microbial loop dominated carbon flow in the late summer mixed layer food web of the North Pacific, most net production was respired leaving little carbon available for export.

Active production and consumption of organic carbon occurred amid a high background of detrital particulate organic carbon (58% of total) with slow turnover time, 66 d.

Mesozooplankton which had relatively minor carbon consumption rates created the majority of export production due to efficient repackaging of consumed material.