The role of penguins in the Recycling of Trace Metals in Antarctica and their Ecological Impact
type: CreativeWork
description: The Antarctic continent and the surrounding Southern Ocean play a fundamental role in regulating climate, ocean circulation and global ecosystems. Understanding how biogeochemical cycles drive primary production and the Southern Ocean ecosystem is crucial for elucidating the ecological functioning of this region. In this context, biological recycling is considered a key mechanism for the retention and supply of Trace Metals in surface waters. Through this process, marine organisms contribute to the nutrient pool that supports phytoplankton community's growth, limited in many areas due to the depletion of iron. Despite the attention focused on krill and whales, whose excretion products are recognised as the main iron recycling mechanism in the Antarctic ecosystem, the role of penguins, one of the most emblematic organisms of the region, in the biogeochemical cycles of the Southern Ocean has not been addressed. The central axis of this Doctoral Thesis is the study of guano from two Antarctic penguin species, involving a multidisciplinary approach encompassing both the chemical characterisation in terms of dissolved Trace Metals and particulate biogeochemical components, together with the assessment of its effects on organisms of the coastal ecosystem based on ecotoxicological assays. The results derived from a literature review on metal contents in different body tissues, feathers and penguin guano, with our guano samples analysis indicated that guano is the main reservoir of Trace Metals considered essential (Chapter 3). Guano conteins concentration of Cu (2.0 ± 1.4) x 102, Fe (4.1 ± 2.9) x 102, Mn (30 ± 34) and Zn (210 ± 90) (g g-1 dry weight), that are of the same order of magnitude as those reported for whale faeces: Cu (2.9 ± 2.4) x 102, Fe (1.5 ± 1.4) x 102, Mn (28 ± 17) and Zn (6.2 ± 4.3) x 102 (g g-1 dry weight). This allowed to provide evidence for the potential role of penguins in the recycling of Trace Metals. The challenge of characterising the coastal wat…
abstract: The Antarctic continent and the surrounding Southern Ocean play a fundamental role in regulating climate, ocean circulation and global ecosystems. Understanding how biogeochemical cycles drive primary production and the Southern Ocean ecosystem is crucial for elucidating the ecological functioning of this region. In this context, biological recycling is considered a key mechanism for the retention and supply of Trace Metals in surface waters. Through this process, marine organisms contribute to the nutrient pool that supports phytoplankton community's growth, limited in many areas due to the depletion of iron. Despite the attention focused on krill and whales, whose excretion products are recognised as the main iron recycling mechanism in the Antarctic ecosystem, the role of penguins, one of the most emblematic organisms of the region, in the biogeochemical cycles of the Southern Ocean has not been addressed. The central axis of this Doctoral Thesis is the study of guano from two Antarctic penguin species, involving a multidisciplinary approach encompassing both the chemical characterisation in terms of dissolved Trace Metals and particulate biogeochemical components, together with the assessment of its effects on organisms of the coastal ecosystem based on ecotoxicological assays. The results derived from a literature review on metal contents in different body tissues, feathers and penguin guano, with our guano samples analysis indicated that guano is the main reservoir of Trace Metals considered essential (Chapter 3). Guano conteins concentration of Cu (2.0 ± 1.4) x 102, Fe (4.1 ± 2.9) x 102, Mn (30 ± 34) and Zn (210 ± 90) (g g-1 dry weight), that are of the same order of magnitude as those reported for whale faeces: Cu (2.9 ± 2.4) x 102, Fe (1.5 ± 1.4) x 102, Mn (28 ± 17) and Zn (6.2 ± 4.3) x 102 (g g-1 dry weight). This allowed to provide evidence for the potential role of penguins in the recycling of Trace Metals. The challenge of characterising the coastal wat…
author: Sparaventi, Erica
language: eng
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
date published: 2024-12-02
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:29:41Z
provider: Universidad de Cadiz
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Universidad de Cadiz

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10498/37269