pelagicbenthic

Pelagicbenthic refers to the ecological interface between the pelagic zone (the open water column) and the benthic zone (the seafloor). The term highlights the exchange of energy, matter, and organisms across this boundary and the coupling of pelagic production with benthic communities.

Key channels of pelagicbenthic coupling include the deposition of organic matter from surface waters to the seabed (marine snow and fecal pellets), sinking detritus, and resuspension by currents. Benthic organisms remineralize material, recycle nutrients, and excrete products that feed pelagic microbes and plankton. Diel vertical migration also transports carbon downward to the benthos.

Ecological significance includes nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration via the biological pump, and the structure of local food webs. Coupling strength varies with productivity and oxygen availability; it tends to be strongest on continental shelves and in upwelling systems, and weaker in oligotrophic open-ocean regions or oxygen minimum zones.

Habitat range spans coastal shelves to deep basins. Sinking food supports benthic meiofauna and macrofauna, while pelagicbenthic interactions include predation, scavenging, and nutrient exchange that link surface communities with bottom-dwellers.

Methods for study include sediment traps, benthic cores, in situ sensors, and acoustic surveys, often integrated with measurements of primary production and zooplankton dynamics. Climate change and ocean deoxygenation are expected to alter pelagicbenthic coupling, with implications for carbon cycling and benthic ecosystems.