The production and dissolution of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a key component of the ocean carbon cycle. In the open ocean, nearly all CaCO3 is produced by three groups of calcifying plankton: coccolithophores, foraminifers, and pteropods. These taxonomically and functionally diverse organisms play a major role in ocean biogeochemistry by modulating air-sea CO2 exchange, and facilitating the export of carbon and alkalinity to depth.Despite their biogeochemical importance, these groups are typically considered separately, precluding an integrated understanding. Yet the pathways by which CaCO3 is produced and cycled through the ocean have important consequences for the carbon cycle and ecosystem functioning. Notably, none of the Earth system models included in the current Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) explicitly represents these groups of organisms. Here, we review the distinct functional traits of coccolithophores, foraminifers, and pteropods to elucidate how these traits shape their global distributions, vulnerabilities to climate change and acidification, and their role in modulating ocean chemistry and the Earth system.
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