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Estimating stable carbon isotope values of microphytobenthos in the Arctic for application to food web studies

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Abstract

Most studies on Arctic food webs have neglected microphytobenthos as a potential food source because we currently lack robust measurements of δ13C values for microphytobenthos from this environment. As a result, the role of microphytobenthos in high latitude marine food webs is not well understood. We combined field measurements of the concentration of aqueous carbon dioxide and the stable carbon isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC) from bottom water in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas with a set of stable carbon isotopic fractionation factors reflecting differences in algal taxonomy and physiology to estimate the stable carbon isotope composition of microphytobenthos-derived total organic carbon (δ13Cp). The δ13Cp for Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a pennate diatom likely to be a dominant microphytobenthos taxon, was estimated to be −23.9 ± 0.4 ‰ as compared to a centric diatom (Porosira glacialis, δ13Cp = −20.0 ± 1.6 ‰) and a marine haptophyte (Emiliana huxleyi, δ13Cp = −22.7 ± 0.5 ‰) at a growth rate (µ) of 0.1 divisions per day (d−1). δ13Cp values increased by ~2.5 ‰ when µ increased from 0.1 to a maximum growth rate of 1.4 d−1. We compared our estimates of δ13Cp values for microphytobenthos with published measurements for other carbon sources in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. We found that microphytobenthos values overlapped with pelagic sources, yet differed from riverine and ice-derived carbon sources. These model results provide valuable insight into the range of possible isotopic values for microphytobenthos from this region, but we remain cautious in regard to the conclusiveness of these findings given the paucity of field measurements currently available for model validation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded as part of “An interdisciplinary monitoring mooring in the western Arctic boundary current: Climatic forcing and ecosystem response” (Arctic Observing Network NSF Award #0856244) and NSF Award # ARC-0902177. This paper comprises part of Laura Oxtoby’s PhD thesis research. We are indebted to the crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy for assistance with sample collection. We thank Jessica Cross, Claudine Hauri, and Stacey Reisdorph for field measurements of carbon parameters. We also thank Andrew Ross, Oregon State University Stable Isotope Laboratory, for conducting sample analysis. Katrin Iken, Shiway Wang, Kyungcheol Choy, and Benjamin Gaglioti provided thoughtful commentary on the manuscript prior to submission. We are grateful to the editor (Dr. Piepenburg) and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on our original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Science, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 905 N. Koyukuk Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    L. E. Oxtoby & M. J. Wooller

  2. Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 306 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    L. E. Oxtoby & M. J. Wooller

  3. Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    J. T. Mathis

  4. Ocean Acidification Research Center, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 905 N. Koyukuk Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    J. T. Mathis

  5. College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 CEOAS Admin Bldg, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    L. W. Juranek

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  1. L. E. Oxtoby
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Oxtoby, L.E., Mathis, J.T., Juranek, L.W. et al. Estimating stable carbon isotope values of microphytobenthos in the Arctic for application to food web studies. Polar Biol 39, 473–483 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1800-2

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