ABSTRACT
Gel particles have gained increasing attention in the marine scientic community. They have been examined with respect to abiotic particle formation (Chin et al., 1998; Passow, 2000; Kerner et al., 2003; Verdugo et al., 2004; Engel et al., 2004), organic matter coagulation and sedimentation/export processes (Logan et al., 1995; Engel, 2000; Passow et al., 2001; Beauvais et al., 2006; Kahl et al., 2008), carbon cycling (Mari, 1999; Engel and Passow, 2001; Mari et al., 2001), absorbance of trace elements and nutrients (Quigley et al., 2002; Guo et al., 2002; Azetsu-Scott and Niven, 2005), climate change feedback (Engel, 2002; Arrigo, 2007), habitat structuring, and food web dynamics in benthic and pelagic ecosystems (Krembs and Engel, 2000; Mari et al., 2004; Wild et al., 2004; Shackelford and Cowen, 2006; Grossart and Simon, 2007; Heinonen et al., 2007).
