Pelagic ecosystems and climate change. Global environmental change.
Résumé
The word pelagic comes from the Greek and means "open sea". Pelagic ecosystems cover about 71% of the Earth's surface with a volume of 1.33 trillion km3 and an average depth of 3682 m. Any alteration of the structure of pelagic ecosystems might have important consequences for ecosystem functioning, biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem goods and services. Plankton are a key component of the pelagic ecosystems. Phytoplankton (vegetal plankton), present in the photic zone, are responsible for about half of global primary production and are the main starting point of the marine food web. Zooplankton ensures the transfer of the primary production to higher trophic levels such as fish and seabird and zooplankton composition affects the biological carbon pump. Among zooplankton calanoid copepods are an important taxonomic group, ...