A Holistic Approach to Marine Eco-Systems Biology

With biology becoming quantitative, systems-level studies can now be performed at spatial scales ranging from molecules to ecosystems. Biological data generated consistently across scales can be integrated with physico-chemical contextual data for a truly holistic approach, with a profound impact on our understanding of life [1]–[5]. Marine ecosystems are crucial in the regulation of Earth's biogeochemical cycles and climate [6],[7]. Yet their organization, evolution, and dynamics remain poorly understood [8],[9]. The Tara Oceans project was launched in September 2009 for a 3-year study of the global ocean ecosystem aboard the ship Tara. A unique sampling programme encompassing optical and genomic methods to describe viruses, bacteria, archaea, protists, and metazoans in their physico-chemical environment has been implemented. Starting as a grassroots initiative of a few scientists, the project has grown into a global consortium of over 100 specialists from diverse disciplines, including oceanography, microbial ecology, genomics, molecular, cellular, and systems biology, taxonomy, bioinformatics, data management, and ecosystem modeling. This multidisciplinary community aims to generate systematic, open access datasets usable for probing the morphological and molecular makeup, diversity, evolution, ecology, and global impacts of plankton on the Earth system

Plankton networks driving carbon export in the oligotrophic ocean

The biological carbon pump is the process by which CO 2 is transformed to organic carbon via photosynthesis, exported through sinking particles, and finally sequestered in the deep ocean. While the intensity of the pump correlates with plankton community composition, the underlying ecosystem structure driving the process remains largely uncharacterized. Here we use environmental and metagenomic data gathered during the Tara Oceans expedition to improve our understanding of carbon export in the oligotrophic ocean. We show that specific plankton communities, from the surface and deep chlorophyll maximum, correlate with carbon export at 150 m and highlight unexpected taxa such as Radiolaria and alveolate parasites, as well as Synechococcus and their phages, as lineages most strongly associated with carbon export in the subtropical, nutrient-depleted, oligotrophic ocean. Additionally, we show that the relative abundance of a few bacterial and viral genes can predict a significant fraction of the variability in carbon export in these regions

On the interannual variability of nitrogen fixation in the subtropical gyres

Time-series observations of geochemical tracers and diazotroph abundances in the northern subtropical gyres suggest variability in nitrogen fixation on interannual and longer timescales. Using a highly idealized model of the biogeochemistry and ecology of a subtropical gyre, we explore the previously proposed hypothesis that such variability is regulated by an internal biogeochemical oscillator. We find, in certain parameter regimes, self-sustained oscillations in nitrogen fixation, community structure and biogeochemical cycles even with perfectly steady physical forcing. During the oscillations of nitrogen fixation, blooms of diazotrophs occur at intervals between a year and several decades, consistent with the observed variability. The period of the oscillations is strongly regulated by the exchange rate between the thermocline and mixed-layer waters. The oscillatory solutions occur in a relatively small region of parameter space, but one in which the relative fitness of diazotrophs and non-diazotrophs are closely matched and the time-averaged biomass of each class of phytoplankton is maximized

ZOOPLANKTON PREDATION CAN INCREASE PHYTOPLANKTON DIVERSITY IN MODELS

participantWith global climate change accelerating, marine ecosystems face the challenge of adapting to a persistently changing environment. Species well established in the current climate might be outcompeted by species more successful in a warmer climate, thereby affecting ecosystem trophic structure and their role within the future global carbon cycle. How well marine communities will be able to adapt depends on their biodiversity. The observed biodiversity, however, often is not captured in ecosystem models employed to understand and predict consequences of climate change. In these models, zooplankton predation is often greatly simplified in spite of its potential to govern plankton dynamics: characteristics like feeding strategies and community responses are rarely considered in detail. Here, we compare the effects of different predation formulations on phytoplankton diversity in a global ecosystem model. In a model ocean seeded with several dozens of competing phytoplankton species, a small number of species dominate when employing a commonly used simplistic predation formulation. Diversity increases if the response of the entire zooplankton community on prey composition is considered. Combining this community response with a mechanistic predation model more than doubles the number of coexisting species. Employing a sound predation formulation is a prerequisite for successfully estimating the role and response of marine ecosystems in a future climate

Lagrangian betweenness: detecting fluid transport bottlenecks in oceanic flows

Trabajo presentado en la European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU General Assembly 2021), celebrada online del 19 al 30 de abril de 2021.The study of connectivity patterns in networks has brought novel insights across diverse fields ranging from neurosciences to epidemic spreading or climate. In this context, betweenness centrality has demonstrated to be a very effective measure to identify nodes that act as focus of congestion, or bottlenecks, in the network. However, there is not a way to define betweenness outside the network framework. Here we introduce the “Lagrangian betweenness”, an analogous quantity which relies only on the information provided by trajectories sampled across a generic dynamical system in the form of Finite Time Lyapunov Exponents, a widely used metric in Dynamical Systems Theory and Lagrangian oceanography. Our theoretical framework reveals a link between regions of high betweenness and the hyperbolic behavior of trajectories in the system. For example, it identifies bottlenecks in fluid flows where particles are first brought together and then widely dispersed. This has many potential applications including marine ecology and pollutant dispersal. We first test our definition of betweenness in an idealized double-gyre flow system. We then apply it in the characterization of transport by real geophysical flows in the semi-enclosed Adriatic Sea and the Kerguelen region of the highly turbulent Antarctic Circumpolar Current. In both cases, patterns of Lagrangian betweenness identify hidden bottlenecks of tracer transport that are surprisingly persistent across different spatio-temporal scales. In the marine context, high Lagrangian betweenness regions represent the optimal compromise between the heterogeneity of water origins and destinations, suggesting that they may be associated with relevant diversity reservoirs and hot-spots in marine ecosystems. Our new metric could also provide a novel approach useful for the management of environmental resources, informing strategies for marine spatial planning, and for designing observational networks to control pollutants or early-warning signals of climatic risks

Phylogenetic Diversity in the Macromolecular Composition of Microalgae.

The elemental stoichiometry of microalgae reflects their underlying macromolecular composition and influences competitive interactions among species and their role in the food web and biogeochemistry. Here we provide a new estimate of the macromolecular composition of microalgae using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis of data compiled from the literature. The median macromolecular composition of nutrient-sufficient exponentially growing microalgae is 32.2% protein, 17.3% lipid, 15.0% carbohydrate, 17.3% ash, 5.7% RNA, 1.1% chlorophyll-a and 1.0% DNA as percent dry weight. Our analysis identifies significant phylogenetic differences in macromolecular composition undetected by previous studies due to small sample sizes and the large inherent variability in macromolecular pools. The phylogenetic differences in macromolecular composition lead to variations in carbon-to-nitrogen ratios that are consistent with independent observations. These phylogenetic differences in macromolecular and elemental composition reflect adaptations in cellular architecture and biochemistry; specifically in the cell wall, the light harvesting apparatus, and storage pools

Lagrangian betweenness as a measure of bottlenecks in dynamical systems with oceanographic examples

The study of connectivity patterns in networks has brought novel insights across diverse fields ranging from neurosciences to epidemic spreading or climate. In this context, betweenness centrality has demonstrated to be a very effective measure to identify nodes that act as focus of congestion, or bottlenecks, in the network. However, there is not a way to define betweenness outside the network framework. By analytically linking dynamical systems and network theory, we provide a trajectory-based formulation of betweenness, called Lagrangian betweenness, as a function of Lyapunov exponents. This extends the concept of betweenness beyond the context of network theory relating hyperbolic points and heteroclinic connections in any dynamical system to the structural bottlenecks of the network associated with it. Using modeled and observational velocity fields, we show that such bottlenecks are present and surprisingly persistent in the oceanic circulation across different spatio-temporal scales and we illustrate the role of these areas in driving fluid transport over vast oceanic regions. Analyzing plankton abundance data from the Kuroshio region of the Pacific Ocean, we find significant spatial correlations between measures of diversity and betweenness, suggesting promise for ecological applications.MJF and ES-R are very grateful for support from the Simons Foundation: the Simons Collaboration on Computational BIOgeochemical modeling of Marine EcosystemS (CBIOMES #549931 to MJF). C.L. and E.H-G acknowledge financial support from the Spanish State Research Agency through the Maria de Maeztu Program for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2017-0711).N

Lagrangian betweenness as a measure of bottlenecks in dynamical systems with oceanographic examples

International audienceThe study of connectivity patterns in networks has brought novel insights across diverse fields ranging from neurosciences to epidemic spreading or climate. In this context, betweenness centrality has demonstrated to be a very effective measure to identify nodes that act as focus of congestion, or bottlenecks, in the network. However, there is not a way to define betweenness outside the network framework. By analytically linking dynamical systems and network theory, we provide a trajectory-based formulation of betweenness, called Lagrangian betweenness, as a function of Lyapunov exponents. This extends the concept of betweenness beyond the context of network theory relating hyperbolic points and heteroclinic connections in any dynamical system to the structural bottlenecks of the network associated with it. Using modeled and observational velocity fields, we show that such bottlenecks are present and surprisingly persistent in the oceanic circulation across different spatio-temporal scales and we illustrate the role of these areas in driving fluid transport over vast oceanic regions. Analyzing plankton abundance data from the Kuroshio region of the Pacific Ocean, we find significant spatial correlations between measures of diversity and betweenness, suggesting promise for ecological applications