Articles | Volume 18, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5465-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5465-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Oct 2021
Research article |
| 08 Oct 2021
| 08 Oct 2021
Abundances and morphotypes of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi in southern Patagonia compared to neighbouring oceans and Northern Hemisphere fjords
Francisco Díaz-Rosas
Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento de Ecología,
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía de Chile, Concepción,
Chile
Catharina Alves-de-Souza
Algal Resources Collection, MARBIONC, Center for Marine Science,
University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, USA
Emilio Alarcón
Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia,
Coyhaique, Chile
Centro de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de
Altas Latitudes, Punta Arenas, Chile
Eduardo Menschel
Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia,
Coyhaique, Chile
Centro de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de
Altas Latitudes, Punta Arenas, Chile
Humberto E. González
Centro de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de
Altas Latitudes, Punta Arenas, Chile
Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad
Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
Rodrigo Torres
Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia,
Coyhaique, Chile
Centro de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de
Altas Latitudes, Punta Arenas, Chile
Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento de Ecología,
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía de Chile, Concepción,
Chile
Related authors
Francisco Javier Díaz-Rosas, Cristian Antonio Vargas, and Peter von Dassow
Biogeosciences, 22, 4405–4422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4405-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4405-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Coccolithophores are tiny oceanic algae that produce calcium carbonate, which can help organic matter sink and affect the oxygen levels below. As ocean conditions change, we studied how these algae contribute to carbon transport in a low-oxygen, low-pH region of the Southeast Pacific. Our results show they survive in these challenging conditions, but their impact is lower than in most regions, suggesting that other phytoplankton may play a bigger role in moving organic carbon here.
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Biogeosciences, 22, 4405–4422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4405-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4405-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Coccolithophores are tiny oceanic algae that produce calcium carbonate, which can help organic matter sink and affect the oxygen levels below. As ocean conditions change, we studied how these algae contribute to carbon transport in a low-oxygen, low-pH region of the Southeast Pacific. Our results show they survive in these challenging conditions, but their impact is lower than in most regions, suggesting that other phytoplankton may play a bigger role in moving organic carbon here.
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Short summary
Short summary
Ash from the Calbuco 2015 eruption spread across northern Patagonia, the SE Pacific and the SW Atlantic. In the Pacific, a phytoplankton bloom corresponded closely to the volcanic ash plume, suggesting that ash fertilized this region of the ocean. No such fertilization was found in the Atlantic where nutrients plausibly supplied by ash were likely already in excess of phytoplankton demand. In Patagonia, the May bloom was more intense than usual, but the mechanistic link to ash was less clear.
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Short summary
Coccolithophores are important unicellular algae with a calcium carbonate covering that might be affected by ongoing changes in the ocean due to absorption of CO2, warming, and melting of glaciers. We used the southern Patagonian fjords as a natural laboratory, where chemical conditions are naturally highly variable. One variant of a widespread coccolithophore species can tolerate these conditions, suggesting it is highly adaptable, while others were excluded, suggesting they are less adaptable.
Coccolithophores are important unicellular algae with a calcium carbonate covering that might be...
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