Immigration of prokaryotes to local environments enhances remineralization efficiency of sinking particles: a metacommunity model

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 366:1-14 (2008) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07597 FEATURE ARTICLE Immigration of prokaryotes to local environments enhances remineralization efficiency of sinking particles: a metacommunity model Takeshi Miki1,4,*, Taichi Yokokawa2, Toshi Nagata1,5, Norio Yamamura3 1Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Hirano 2-509-3, Otsu, Shiga 5202113, Japan 2Department of Biological Oceanography, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands 3Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan 4Present address: Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan 5Present address: Marine Biogeochemistry Group, Department of Chemical Oceanography, Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 1-15-1 Minami-dai, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8639, Japan *Email: tks_miki@yahoo.co.jp ABSTRACT: Processing of organic matter by heterotrophic prokaryotes regulates carbon sequestration in the ocean, and thus influences the global climate. Recent studies have begun to elucidate the remarkable diversity of oceanic prokaryotes with estimates of >1000 species or phylotypes in a single local habitat and up to 2 million in the global ocean. However, how this prokaryotic diversity and spatial heterogeneity in their compositions contribute to regional variations in major biogeochemical fluxes driven by heterotrophic prokaryotes is still unclear. A new theoretical model integrating the metacommunity concept with oceanic biogeochemistry demonstrates that increased production of particulate organic carbon (POC) leads to increased efficiency of remineralization of POC in the surface ocean, affecting the carbon export to deep waters. This is attributed to flexible shifts in the local prokaryotic community composition in response to changes in primary production, which is facilitated by the high degree of diversity in the metacommunity and moderate immigration rates of prokaryotes into the local community. By linking the spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities to their transient dynamics, a metacommunity concept will improve our understanding of the regional variability of biogeochemical processes in the oceans. KEY WORDS: Theoretical model · Biological pump · Carbon cycle · Biodiversity · Bacteria · Metacommunity Full text in pdf format Information about this Feature Article NextCite this article as: Miki T, Yokokawa T, Nagata T, Yamamura N (2008) Immigration of prokaryotes to local environments enhances remineralization efficiency of sinking particles: a metacommunity model. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 366:1-14. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07597 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 366. Online publication date: August 29, 2008 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2008 Inter-Research.