The first evidence for why we have complex life forms in the polar oceans is provided by new research.
Without trace metal zinc the oceans would be deprived of life more biologically complex thanbacteria. Without the base of the marine food web, marine biodiversity would be much less than it is today.
A group of 46 researchers from five countries were involved in the study.
The results of a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution show that the polar oceans are the most productive on the planet because of zinc.
The paper is the first to link the role of an essential trace metal for life with the adaptive evolution of many different organisms.
These primary producers seem to have been able to cope with the challenging conditions of the polar surface oceans. Without zinc we wouldn't have any fish or other marine animals. Zinc is thought to have driven the evolution of life in the polar oceans.
Life in non-polar oceans is not dependent on elevated concentrations of zinc, so if zinc concentrations get reduced in polar surface waters, polar life will potentially disappear quicker than in other oceans.
The immune system and metabolism are supported by zinc. It supports several important biological processes in the ocean.
The reasons behind the increased requirement of zinc by natural polar algal communities, especially in the Southern Ocean, remain unclear, but this new data suggests that polar microalgae have an higher zinc demand.
The study shows that zinc concentrations on the surface of the polar oceans have an effect on the evolution of algae. The formation of some of the most productive food webs has been made possible by zinc.
Changes in their abundance and the role played in zinc biogeochemical cycling indicates that a changing climate will affect zinc cycling throughout the global ocean.
The dissolved zinc concentrations in the ocean vary from above average in the Southern Ocean to vanishingly low in the tropics.
A large part of the global zinc distribution is thought to be due to the high zinc demands of polar algae.
According to the authors of the study, climate change could cause zinc limitations in non-polar oceans by reducing zinc concentrations.
Regulation is needed to cope with the extreme light and darkness of the summer and winter seasons.
Cold-adaptedalgae have evolved mechanisms to reduce their light compensation point in order to photosynthesize under low light levels.
The article "The role of zinc in the adaptive evolution of polar phytoplankton" was published in June.
More information: Naihao Ye et al, The role of zinc in the adaptive evolution of polar phytoplankton, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01750-x Journal information: Nature Ecology & Evolution
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