Journal
ISME JOURNAL
Volume 4, Issue 11, Pages 1421-1430Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2010.63
Keywords
biodegradation; predation; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; trophic interactions; live meiofauna extraction; T-RFLP
Categories
Funding
- Lars Sillens' fund
- Stockholm Marine Research Center (SMF)
- Fundacao de Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal [POCI 210-BD 17844/2004]
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The role of sediment-living meiofauna, benthic invertebrates smaller than 1000 mu m such as nematodes and ostracods, on the mineralization of naphthalene, a common polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in marine sediments, was studied in microcosms using radiorespirometry. A method to extract live meiofauna was developed and used in order to experimentally manipulate meiofauna abundance and group diversity. Higher abundances of meiofauna were found to significantly decrease naphthalene mineralization. Furthermore, a change in the bacterial community composition (studied using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism) was also observed in presence of higher meiofauna abundance, as well as a lower number of cultivable naphthalene-degrading bacteria. The reduced mineralization of naphthalene and the altered bacterial community composition in the presence of increased meiofauna abundance is likely the result of top-down control by meiofauna. This study shows that higher abundances of meiofauna can significantly decrease the microbial mineralization of PAHs such as naphthalene and also significantly modify the bacterial community composition in natural marine sediments. The ISME Journal (2010) 4, 1421-1430; doi: 10.1038/ismej.2010.63; published online 13 May 2010
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