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Sponge contribution to the silicon cycle of a diatom-rich shallow bay

View ORCID ProfileMaría López-Acosta, Manuel Maldonado, Jacques Grall, Axel Ehrhold, Cèlia Sitjà, Cristina Galobart, Aude Leynaert
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.20.465147
María López-Acosta
1Oceanology Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (IIM-CSIC), C/ Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain
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  • ORCID record for María López-Acosta
  • For correspondence: lopezacosta@iim.csic.es
Manuel Maldonado
2Department of Marine Ecology, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Acceso Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes 17300, Girona, Spain
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Jacques Grall
3Observatoire des Sciences de l’Univers, UMS 3113, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané 29280, France
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Axel Ehrhold
4IFREMER, Géosciences Marines, Centre de Brest, BP70, CS10070, Plouzané 29280, France
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Cèlia Sitjà
2Department of Marine Ecology, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Acceso Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes 17300, Girona, Spain
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Cristina Galobart
2Department of Marine Ecology, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Acceso Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes 17300, Girona, Spain
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Aude Leynaert
5Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Environnement Marin, UMR 6539, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané 29280, France
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Abstract

In coastal systems, planktonic and benthic silicifiers compete for the pool of dissolved silicon, a nutrient required to make their skeletons. The contribution of planktonic diatoms to the cycling of silicon in coastal systems is often well characterized, while that of benthic silicifiers such as sponges has rarely been quantified. Herein, silicon fluxes and stocks are quantified for the sponge fauna in the benthic communities of the Bay of Brest (France). A total of 45 siliceous sponge species living in the Bay account for a silicon standing stock of 1215 tons, while that of diatoms is only 27 tons. The silicon reservoir accumulated as sponge skeletons in the superficial sediments of the Bay rises to 1775 tons, while that of diatom skeletons is only 248 tons. These comparatively large stocks of sponge silicon were estimated to cycle two orders of magnitude slower than the diatom stocks. Sponge silicon stocks need years to decades to be renewed, while diatom turnover lasts only days. Although the sponge monitoring over the last 6 years indicates no major changes of the sponge stocks, our results do not allow to conclude if the silicon sponge budget of the Bay is at steady state, and potential scenarios are discussed. The findings buttress the idea that sponges and diatoms play contrasting roles in the marine silicon cycle. The budgets of these silicon major users need to be integrated and their connections revealed, if we aim to reach a full understanding of the silicon cycling in coastal ecosystems.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted October 21, 2021.
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Sponge contribution to the silicon cycle of a diatom-rich shallow bay
María López-Acosta, Manuel Maldonado, Jacques Grall, Axel Ehrhold, Cèlia Sitjà, Cristina Galobart, Aude Leynaert
bioRxiv 2021.10.20.465147; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.20.465147
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Sponge contribution to the silicon cycle of a diatom-rich shallow bay
María López-Acosta, Manuel Maldonado, Jacques Grall, Axel Ehrhold, Cèlia Sitjà, Cristina Galobart, Aude Leynaert
bioRxiv 2021.10.20.465147; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.20.465147

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