Suspended sediment from melting glaciers in Arctic waters can overlap with phytoplankton, bacteria and viruses which can have consequences for trophic transfers and biogeochemical cycles. Through the increased turbidity, primary production can be reduced and grazing decreased due to ingestion of particles.
By taking sea water samples across 3 transects towards different glaciers Maat et al. (2019) investigated the effects of fine sediments on the microbial community. Increased sediment presence altered the turbidity and salinity thus negatively affecting phytoplankton growth, decreasing virus-bacteria interaction as well as the virus community, reducing host mortality.
It is hypothesised that the reduced virus effect could stimulate trophic transfers and carbon export, however even the abundance of phytoplankton and bacteria decreased towards the glaciers.
Effects from the change in abundance are unstudied. An increase in carbon export could lead to higher carbon availability throughout the water column, the effect this might have on atmospheric carbon and climate change is however unknown. Additionally, the uncontrolled growth of phytoplankton and bacteria could lead to harmful blooms and bring risks to the wider food web and ecosystem balance. Further study is required to understand the impact of glacier melt on the microbial community and its wider reach.
Maat, D., Visser, R., Brussaard, C. (2019) Virus removal by glacier-derived suspended fine sediment in the Arctic. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Vol. 521
Accessible through: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2019.151227
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