Terrestrial (trees, shrubs) and marine (seaweeds and seagrasses) organisms act as carbon (C) sinks, but the role of benthic suspension feeders in this regard has been largely neglected so far. Gorgonians are one of the most conspicuous inhabitants of marine animal forests (mainly composed of sessile filter feeders); their seston capture rates influence benthic-pelagic coupling processes and they act as C sinks immobilizing carbon in their long-living structures. Three gorgonian species (Paramuricea clavata, Eunicella singularis and Leptogorgia sarmentosa) were studied coupling data of population size structure, biomass and spatial distribution in a NW Mediterranean area (Cap de Creus, Spain) with feeding, respiration and growth rates. In the study area, we calculated that P. clavata sequestered 0.73 ± 0.71 g C m−2 year−1, E. singularis 0.73 ± 0.89 g C m−2 year−1 and L. sarmentosa 0.03 ± 0.02 g C m−2 year−1. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to calculate the importance as C sinks of gorgonian species that we consider as a starting point to estimate the importance of marine animal forests in C sequestration, and to ensure appropriate management and protection especially in areas and at depths where they are concentrated.
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机译：陆地（树木，灌木）和海洋（海藻和海草）生物体充当碳（C）汇，但到目前为止，底栖悬浮饲养者在这方面的作用已被很大程度上忽略。高哥人是海洋动物森林（主要由无柄滤食性动物组成）中最引人注目的居民之一；它们的硒捕获率影响底栖-上层耦合过程，它们充当C汇，将碳固定在其长寿结构中。研究了三个高粱物种（Paramuricea clavata，Eunicella singularis和Leptogorgia sarmentosa）在西北地中海地区（西班牙的德克鲁斯）的种群大小结构，生物量和空间分布与摄食，呼吸和生长速率的耦合数据。在研究区域中，我们计算出克拉维假单胞菌螯合了0.73±0.71 g C m −2 year -1 ，奇异肠埃希氏菌0.73±0.89 g C m −2 year −1 和沙门氏菌0.03±0.02 g C m −2 year -1 。据我们所知，这是首次尝试计算作为物种的碳汇的重要性，我们认为这是估计海洋动物森林在碳汇中的重要性的起点，并确保适当的管理和保护，特别是在地区和他们集中的深处。
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