Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
Volume 352, Issue 1, Pages 89-102Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2007.07.018
Keywords
benthic nutrient fluxes; bioturbation; denitrification; Marenzelleria spp.; phosphorus fractionation
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The effects of the polychaetes Marenzelleria sp. (Polychaeta, Spionidae), nonindigenous, rapidly increasing species in the Baltic Sea, on benthic nutrient fluxes, denitrification and sediment pore water nutrient concentration were studied in laboratory experiments using a flow-through setup with muddy sediment from coastal regions of the Gulf of Finland. In addition, different forms of sediment phosphorus (P), separated by chemical fractionation, were studied in three sediment layers. At a population density corresponding to about half the highest measured in the northern Baltic Sea, Marenzelleria sp. increased the fluxes of P and ammonium to the water column. No effect could be recorded for denitrification. Since the previously dominant species of the area, Monoporeia affinis, can enhance denitrification and lower the amount of dissolved P in the pore water, the replacement of M affinis with Marenzelleria spp. may lead to increased P flux to the water column and decreased denitrification, further increasing the ammonium flux to the water column. However, sediment reworking by Marenzelleria spp. also oxidizes the surface sediment in the long run, improving its ability to retain P and support nitrification. Therefore, the impact of Marenzelleria spp. on sediment nutrient release may not be as drastic as the initial reactions seen in our experiments suggest. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available