The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.

It is well known that microbes, zooplankton, and fish are important sources of recycled nitrogen in coastal waters, yet marine mammals have largely been ignored or dismissed in this cycle. Using field measurements and population data, we find that marine mammals can enhance primary productivity in t...

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Autores principales:	Joe Roman, James J McCarthy
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7fbbc748722d41c08b7449c948124aad
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7fbbc748722d41c08b7449c948124aad2021-11-18T07:03:30ZThe whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0013255https://doaj.org/article/7fbbc748722d41c08b7449c948124aad2010-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20949007/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203It is well known that microbes, zooplankton, and fish are important sources of recycled nitrogen in coastal waters, yet marine mammals have largely been ignored or dismissed in this cycle. Using field measurements and population data, we find that marine mammals can enhance primary productivity in their feeding areas by concentrating nitrogen near the surface through the release of flocculent fecal plumes. Whales and seals may be responsible for replenishing 2.3×10(4) metric tons of N per year in the Gulf of Maine's euphotic zone, more than the input of all rivers combined. This upward "whale pump" played a much larger role before commercial harvest, when marine mammal recycling of nitrogen was likely more than three times atmospheric N input. Even with reduced populations, marine mammals provide an important ecosystem service by sustaining productivity in regions where they occur in high densities.Joe RomanJames J McCarthyPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 5, Iss 10, p e13255 (2010)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Joe Roman James J McCarthy The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.
description	It is well known that microbes, zooplankton, and fish are important sources of recycled nitrogen in coastal waters, yet marine mammals have largely been ignored or dismissed in this cycle. Using field measurements and population data, we find that marine mammals can enhance primary productivity in their feeding areas by concentrating nitrogen near the surface through the release of flocculent fecal plumes. Whales and seals may be responsible for replenishing 2.3×10(4) metric tons of N per year in the Gulf of Maine's euphotic zone, more than the input of all rivers combined. This upward "whale pump" played a much larger role before commercial harvest, when marine mammal recycling of nitrogen was likely more than three times atmospheric N input. Even with reduced populations, marine mammals provide an important ecosystem service by sustaining productivity in regions where they occur in high densities.
format	article
author	Joe Roman James J McCarthy
author_facet	Joe Roman James J McCarthy
author_sort	Joe Roman
title	The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.
title_short	The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.
title_full	The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.
title_fullStr	The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.
title_full_unstemmed	The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.
title_sort	whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2010
url	https://doaj.org/article/7fbbc748722d41c08b7449c948124aad
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The whale pump: marine mammals enhance primary productivity in a coastal basin.

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