“Pink power”—the importance of coralline algal beds in the oceanic carbon cycle
Current evidence suggests that macroalgal-dominated habitats are important contributors to the oceanic carbon cycle, though the role of those formed by calcifiers remains controversial. Globally distributed coralline algal beds, built by pink coloured rhodoliths and maerl, cover extensive coastal shelf areas of the planet, but scarce information on their productivity, net carbon flux dynamics and carbonate deposits hampers assessing their contribution to the overall oceanic carbon cycle. Here, our data, covering large bathymetrical (2-51 m) and geographical ranges (53°N-27°S), show that coralline algal beds are highly productive habitats that can express substantial carbon uptake rates (28-1347 g C m<sup>-2</sup> day<sup>-1</sup>), which vary in function of light availability and species composition and exceed reported estimates for other major macroalgal habitats. This high productivity, together with their substantial carbonate deposits (0.4-38 kilotons), renders coralline algal beds as highly relevant contributors to the present and future oceanic carbon cycle.
Authors
- Nadine Schubert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7161-7882)
- Gianluca Sarà (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7658-5274)
- Fernando Espino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3988-7297)
- Francisco Otero‐Ferrer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1328-9662)
- Mar Bosch‐Belmar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1712-5745)
- Federica Ragazzola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8985-9150)
- Thalassia Giaccone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5639-0878)
- Francesco Paolo Mancuso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7217-5131)
- Kathryn M. Schoenrock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0407-3173)
- Fernando Tuya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8316-5887)
- Cláudia Ribeiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0703-8795)
- Matteo Nannini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1631-4202)
- Paulo Antunes Horta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7699-7589)
- Line Le Gall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7807-4569)
- Pedro Neves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6659-0398)
- Viviana Peña (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7003-3850)
- Vinícius Salazar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8362-3195)
- Irene Olivé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4865-923X)
- Maria Cristina Mangano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6980-9834)
- Mario Francesco Tantillo
- João Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7211-1661)
- Rui Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7861-4366)
- Sophie Martin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6650-0523)
Institutions
- Universidade da Coruña (ES)
- Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE)
- Madeira Tecnopolo (PT)
- Station Biologique de Roscoff (FR)
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (IT)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BR)
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (FR)
- Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (PT)
- Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin (FR)
- Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance (AU)
- University of Algarve (PT)
- University of Palermo (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-09-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52697-5
- Citations
- 26
- Primary Topic
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 12.50
Funders
- European Commission
- University of Galway
- Università degli Studi di Palermo
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
- Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico
- Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade