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Benthic-pelagic coupling are processes that connect the benthic zone and the pelagic zone through the exchange of energy, mass, or nutrients. These processes play a prominent role in both freshwater and marine ecosystems and are influenced by a number of chemical, biological, and physical forces that are crucial to functions from nutrient cycling to energy transfer in food webs.
As with oceans, the benthic zone is the floor of the lake, composed of accumulated sunken organic matter. The littoral zone is the zone bordering the shore; light penetrates easily and aquatic plants thrive. The pelagic zone represents the broad mass of water, down as far as the depth to which no light penetrates. [9]
Internal waves represent oscillations of these thermoclines and therefore have the potential to transfer these phytoplankton rich waters downward, coupling benthic and pelagic systems. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] Areas affected by these events show higher growth rates of suspension feeding ascidians and bryozoans , likely due to the periodic influx of high ...
This change in heat energy distribution can impact the rates of pelagic and benthic productivity (see Temperature above), and change water column stability, with impacts on vertical distribution of nutrients, therefore having effects on vertical distribution of metabolic rates.
The benthic boundary layer (BBL) plays a vital role in the cycling of matter and is commonly referred to as the “endpoint” or "sink" for sediment material, which fuels high metabolic rates for microbial populations. [7] The particles from the pelagic ecosystem sink to the BBL where they will be used by organisms. [2]
Generally, vertical profiles are made of temperature, salinity, chemical parameters at a defined point along the water column. [1] The water column is the largest, yet one of the most under-explored, habitats on the planet; it is explored to better understand the ocean as a whole, including the huge biomass that lives there and its importance ...
The two areas of greatest and most rapid temperature change in the oceans are the transition zone between the surface waters and the deep waters, the thermocline, and the transition between the deep-sea floor and the hot water flows at the hydrothermal vents. Thermoclines vary in thickness from a few hundred meters to nearly a thousand meters.
The benthic marine sulfur cycle is therefore sensitive to anthropogenic influence, such as ocean warming and increased nutrient loading of coastal seas. This stimulates photosynthetic productivity and results in enhanced export of organic matter to the seafloor, often combined with low oxygen concentration in the bottom water (Rabalais et al ...