Biogenic debris from the pelagic tunicate, Oikopleura dioica, and its role in the vertical transport of a transuranium element

The accumulation and retention of ²⁴¹Am by the pelagic tunicate Oikopleura dioica were examined using laboratory cultures and radiotracer methodology. Animals (i.e., trunks and tails) and discarded empty houses accumulated Am from seawater, giving volume/volume concentration factors of 59±8 and 10±1, respectively. The half-time for retention of Am in empty labelled houses transferred to non-contaminated seawater was 29 h; the retention half-time of Am in houses discarded by larvaceans feeding on Am-labelled diatoms was 219 h; the half-time of Am in fecal pellets produced by animals feeding on a monospecific diet of diatoms was 134 h, and 247 h for fecal pellets from animals fed a mixed diet. Approximately 30% of filtered cells remained in houses after the houses were discarded. Sinking rates of discarded houses and fecal pellets were found to vary with temperature and size, ranging from 26-157 m day^-1 (house) and from 25-166 m day^-1 (fecal pellets). The ubiquity and abundance of appendicularians, together with their prodigious production of houses (e.g., 10±2 houses day^-1 at 17°C for each experimental animal) point to their potential significance in the vertical transport of Am, and probably other reactive metals, to intermediate depths in the ocean.