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Application of the High-Temperature Combustion Method for Measuring Organic Carbon Content in Fecal Pellets and Small-Sized (≤1 mm) Zooplankton

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Abstract

Organic carbon of fecal pellets and small-sized (≤ 1mm) zooplankton was measured using a high- temperature combustion method. The method was adapted for measurements with Shimadzu TOC-VCPH analyzer equipped with a manual injection module. The range of organic carbon values was 30–10 000 ng ind–1. The samples for analysis were collected during the cruises of the R/V “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” in the Kara Sea in 2019–2021. Relationship between body carbon (C, µg ind–1) and prosome length (L, mm) of zooplankton describes by the equation С = 4.24 L1.84, r2 = 0.85, n = 46. Carbon of field collected fecal pellet varied from 9.4 to 102.9 µg С mm–3. The carbon to chlorophyll a ratio of fecal pellets differed by more than two orders of magnitude. The highest values (542.1 and 726.1) were obtained in the bays of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, the lowest (3.2–5.6) on the Kara sea shelf in June 2021 soon after ice melting. The perspectives of implication of high temperature combustion method for studies of zooplankton in situ feeding and to estimate the contribution of fecal pellets to POC vertical flux are discussed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the crew of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh the assistance in works.

Funding

This work was performed under state task no. FMWE-2022-0004.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 36 Nakhimovsky Prosp., 117997, Moscow, Russia

    A. V. Drits, N. A. Belayev, V. A. Karmanov & M. V. Flint

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  1. A. V. Drits
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  2. N. A. Belayev
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  3. V. A. Karmanov
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  4. M. V. Flint
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Correspondence to A. V. Drits.

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Translated by L. Mukhortova

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Drits, A.V., Belayev, N.A., Karmanov, V.A. et al. Application of the High-Temperature Combustion Method for Measuring Organic Carbon Content in Fecal Pellets and Small-Sized (≤1 mm) Zooplankton. Oceanology 63, 141–148 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437023010022

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