Belowground productivity of roots and rhizomes in a giant cordgrass marsh

Belowground production of roots and rhizomes in the top 20 cm of soil was 2.2 kg m^?2 yr^?1 based on a maximum minus minimum estimation procedure in a giant cordgrass (Spartina cynosuroides (L.) Roth) marsh in Mississippi. Approximately 1.9 kg m^?2 (86%) of this production occurred in late spring-summer and 0.3 kg m^?2 in late fall. This estimate ignores any production below 20 cm depth and is thus an underestimate. Production values increased to 4.0 kg m^?2 yr^?1 using Smalley’s technique and accounting for decomposition. Aboveground tissues (leaves and stems) were depleted in nitrogen in July which corresponded to peaks in both above- and belowground biomass. The low root/shoot ratio (2.6) on this marsh does not suggest that growth is nutrient limited. Indeed, total productivity (above- and belowground) for this marsh was high (between 4.4 and 6.2 kg m^?2 yr^?1).     

Biomass and production of benthic microalgal communities in estuarine habitats

Accurate measures of intertidal benthic microalgal standing stock (biomass) and productivity are needed to quantify their potential contribution to food webs. Oxygen microelectrode techniques, used in this study, provide realistic measures of intertidal benthic microalgal production. By dividing a salt-marsh estuary into habitat types, based on sediment and sunlight characteristics, we have developed a simple way of describing benthic microalgal communities. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare benthic microalgal biomass and production in five different estuarine habitats over an 18-mo period to document the relative contributions of benthic microalgal productivity in the different habitat types. Samples were collected bimonthly from April 1990 to October 1991. Over the 18-mo period, tall Spartina zone habitats had the highest (101.5 mg chlorophyll a (Chl a) m^?2±6.9 SE) and shallow subtidal habitats the lowest (60.4±8.9 SE) microalgal biomass. There was a unimodal peak in biomass during the late winter-early spring period. The concentrations of photopigments (Chl a and total pheopigments) in the 0–5 mm of sediments were highly correlated (r²=0.73 and 0.88, respectively) with photopigment concentrations in the 5–10 mm depth interval. Biomass specific production (μmol O₂ mg Chl a ^?1 h^?1) was highest in intertidal mudflat habitats (206.3±11.2 SE) and lowest in shallow subtidal habitats (104.3±11.1 SE). Regressions of maximum production (production at saturating irradiances) vs. biomass (Chl a) in the upper 2 mm of sediment by habitat type gave some of the highest correlations ever reported for benthic microalgal communities (r² values ranged from 0.43 to 0.73). The habitat approach and oxygen microelectrode techniques provide a useful, realistic ranged from 0.43 to 0.73). The habitat approach and oxygen microelectrode techniques provide a useful, realistic method for understanding the biomass and production dynamics of estuarine benthic microalgal communities.     

Top-down versus bottom-up limitation in benthic infaunal communities: Direct and indirect effects

Top-down effects of predators and bottom-up effects related to resource availability can be important in determining community structure and function through both direct and indirect processes. Their relative influence may vary among habitats. We examined the effects of nutrient enhancement and predation in southeastern North Carolina to determine relative effects on benthic macrofaunal communities. Short-term nutrient additions and predator exclusions were conducted in two estuaries to examine main and interactive effects on benthic microalgae and infauna. This experimental approach was complemented by comparisons of microalgal biomass, infaunal abundance and composition, predator abundance and predator exclusion among four estuarine systems that varied in background nutrient levels. In the short-term experiments, nutrient enhancement induced increased microalgal biomass but had limited effects on abundances or sizes of infauna. Predator exclusion increased the density of sedentary and near-surface dwelling fauna, but we did not observe interactions between predation and responses to nutrient additions as might be predicted from a simple cascade model. General patterns of abundance were explained to a larger extent by interannual and amongestuary pattems. These results indicate a lack of simple trophic cascade responses for this community over a short time scale and little evidence for local interactive effects. The lack of interactive effects may reflect the opportunistic nature of the dominant infaunal species and potentially different time and spatial scales for the effects of predation and resource controls.     

A multidisciplinary approach to evaluating impacts of shellfish aquaculture on benthic communities

The impact of suspended mussel culture (Mytilus edulis, M. trossulus) on the benthos of a small Nova Scotia cove (7 m depth) was assessed using meehods involving both benthic metabolism and community structure. Due to deposition of mussel feces and pseudofeces, sedimentation rate was higher under the mussel culture lines than at an adjacent reference site of similar sediment texture. Porewater profiles of sediment sulfate and sulfide indicated greater anaerobic metabolism at the mussel site than at the reference site, but sulfide was absent from the upper centimeters of sediments under the mussels. Seasonal measures of sediment oxygen demand showed little change between sites, but maximum rates of ammonium release at the mussel site were twice the highest rates measured at the reference site. Abundance of benthic macrofauna was higher at the reference site, but biomass was generally lower. Biomass at the mussel site was dominated by molluscs (Ilyanassa spp. andNucula tenuisulcata), that were attracted to mussels fallen from the culture and/or enriched organic matter due to biodeposition. Species diversity was lower at the reference site due to the dominance of the polychaeteNephtys neotena. Abundance-biomass comparisons (ABC method) of faunal analysis did not indicate any impact of biodeposition at this site: however, disturbance did not result in a typical assemblage of small opportunistic species anticipated with this method. Cluster analysis of macrofauna usually provided a clear separation between the sites. Since the contruction of a causeway (1968), foraminifera species composition showed a temporal response to temperature changes in the cove by shifting toward calcareous species, but assemblages downcore showed little or no relationship to aquaculture impacts. Although there is a shift toward anaerobic metabolism at the mussel lines, the impact of mussels falling to the sediments was more noticeable in benthic community structure than was any impact due to organic sedimentation or hypoxia. In general the impact of aquaculture on the benthos appeared to be minor. Furtyher assesment of these consequences may mandate both taxonomic and energetic approaches to impact assessment.     

The effect of sewage sludge on salt-marsh denitrifying bacteria

Sewage sludge was applied biweekly to the soil surface of a shortSpartina alterniflora marsh in order to evaluate the marsh’s ability to assimilate the sludge nitrogen. After nine months there was a significant decrease of the denitrification potential in the first 15cm of the soil profile. In laboratory experiments the sludge was shown to have an immediate inhibitory effect on potential soil denitrification rates indicating that the decreasedin situ potential was probably a result of direct toxicity of the sludge on this bacterial respiratory process.     

Influence of intertidal aquaculture on benthic communities in Pacific Northwest estuaries: Scales of disturbance

We reviewed the scale and intensity of disturbance, and the response of benthic and epibenthic communities, to intertidal aquaculture activities in Pacific Northwest estuaries. Available data indicate a spectrum of influences on the ability of estuaries to sustain biota unrelated to the cultured species. Certain disturbances, such as adding gravel to mudflats and sandflats to enhance clam production, may subtly impact certain benthic and epibenthic invertebrates without changing the carrying capacity for estuarine-dependent taxa, such as juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). However, habitat shifts might alter the relative suitability for different salmon species. In contrast, acute disturbances that produce large-scale changes in community dominants, such as manipulation of burrowing shrimp or eelgrass with pesticides or mechanical harvesting and manipulation of oyster grounds, strongly influence the carrying capacity for many fish and macroinvertebrates. Ensuring that estuarine ecosystems are sustainable for the breadth of processes and resources requires a comprehensive assessment of both natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes, landscape influences, and the effects of local management for particular species on other resources.     

The role of faith-based institutions in urban disaster risk reduction for immigrant communities

Natural Hazards - Drawing on interviews with Cambodian and Thai communities in Auckland, New Zealand, this paper examines the role of Buddhist temples in disaster preparedness, response and...     

Foraminiferan-calcimicrobial benthic communities from Upper Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates of Albania (Kruja Zone)

From the Kruja Zone of Albania, shallow-water carbonates assigned to the lower Campanian are described and grouped into six microfacies types of shallow subtidal to intertidal depositional settings. The limestones display internal layering suggestive of microbial fabrics with abundance of nubeculariid foraminifera, incertae sedis Thaumatoporella Pia, and subordinate calcimicrobes of possible cyanobacterial origin: Gahkumella Zaninetti, Girvanella sp., and Decastronema kotori (Radoičić). The nubeculariid morphotypes with ornamented tests and microbial coatings reveal some kind of mutualistic relationship comparable to Late Palaeozoic–Mesozoic Tubiphytes Maslov and Crescentiella Senowbari-Daryan et al. The present study expands our knowledge on the micropalaeontological characteristics of the Late Cretaceous “Decastronema–Thaumatoporella association” widespread in carbonate platforms of the peri-Mediterranean region. Our findings indicate that nubeculariids may have played an important binding role in Late Cretaceous peritidal laminated limestones.     

Environmental impact of salmon net-pen culture on marine benthic communities in Maine: A case study

The environmental impacts of salmon net-pen aquaculture on the benthic environment were investigated at a commercial fish farm located in coastal Maine waters. This site has a sandy mud bottom and low current velocities, is subjected to episodic sediment resuspension, and way in production for 3 yr prior to this study: We examined both the increase in carbon flux to the benthos caused by the net-pen and the effects of the elevated flux on sediment biogeochemistry and the microbenthic communities. The experimental design involved the establishment of two study sites, an ambient site ca. 100 m from the net-pen and a treatment site around the pen. Sediment traps deployed 1 m above the sediment-water interface indicated that carbon flux to the benthos was increased 1-fold to 6-fold (to a maximum of 5 g m^?2d^?1) at the edge of the net-pen with little or no increase in carbon flux 10 m from the pen. Unlike carbon flux rates, sediment organic matter inventories showed a complex pattern of change over time. Mineral surface area, organic carbon and nitrogen, digestible protein, and sterol content were initially (April 1991) lower beneath the pen than in ambient sediments. During 1991 ambient sediment accumulated organic matter until July after which it decreased, to a low during November. In contrast, organic matter inventories of sediment beneath the pen remained low until July and then increased to a high during November. These latter gains were associated with the development of bacterial mats at the sediment-water interface. Beneath the pen, microbial and macrofaunal communities were shifted toward those commonly associated with organic enrichment but seasonal trends and storm-related resuspension events also significantly affected these sediment communities. When abundant, most epibenthic organisms were more numerous near the pen than in adjacent ambient areas. These results suggest that net-pen aquaculture can alter the benthic ecosystem in Maine Coastal waters but indicate that the effects are spatially limited.     

The possible role of benthic microbial mats during the formation of carbonaceous shales in shallow Mid-Proterozoic basins

A considerable portion of the upper member of the Mid-Proterozoic Newland Formation, Meagher County, Montana, consists of carbonaceous silty shales (striped shale facies). This type of shale facies is common in Proterozoic basins and is host to several major base metal deposits. The striped shales were deposited in a subtidal setting, basinward of carbonates characterized by cryptalgal laminites, mudcracks and flat pebble conglomerates. The carbonaceous silty shales are considered remnants of benthic microbial mats. Irregular internal laminae, patterns of particle trapping, mechanical deformation during penecontemporaneous soft-sediment deformation and filamentous microbiota provide evidence for this interpretation. The dolomitic clayey shale contains graded silt-clay couplets, and these are interpreted as storm layers. Modern subtidal microbial mats can only survive under special conditions, but in the Proterozoic, it is suggested that benthic microbial mats colonized the shallow seafloor during periods of low sediment input, leading to the formation of carbonaceous shales.     

Epikarst communities: biodiversity hotspots and potential water tracers

There is an exceptionally rich aquatic fauna in the epikarst, the skin of karst. High species richness in the epikarst, coupled with its special vulnerability as the first point of entry of nearly all toxic spills, makes its protection especially important. The epikarst fauna may also be an useful tool in tracing the potential route of pollutants. Copepods in epikarst have extremely local distributions, and their body size is such that they are largely at the mercy of directional flows. In a series of caves in southwest Slovenia and West Virginia, a significant fraction of the copepod species occur in less than 100 m of linear extent. This suggests a pattern of highly restricted lateral flow under normal conditions and the distribution of copepods could potentially be used to trace water movement. Under high flow conditions as would often be the case with toxic spill, mounding of water may increase the lateral radius of flow. Nevertheless, copepods may be useful tracers.     

Bioleaching potential of bacterial communities in historic mine waste areas

Microbial activity has the potential to alter all cultural heritage in mining and metallurgy, due to metal mobilization by leaching. This communication shows the consequences of the bioleaching ability of two natural enrichments on copper slag samples from a historic ore smelting site in Sangerhausen (Mansfeld, Südharz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany). Enrichment cultures gained from mine drainage were dominated by either the iron and sulfur-oxidizing Acidithiobacillus ferrivorans, or by the iron-oxidizing Leptospirillum. During 35 days of bioleaching in media containing copper slag pulp, inoculated with these enrichments, the change in pH and solubilized metal concentrations of the systems were monitored. Both bacterial strains were completely different from each other in their pattern of pH variation and rates of metal solubilization. The maximum removal of Cu (1725 mg/l) and Zn (715 mg/l) from copper slag substrate was achieved with enrichment culture of A. ferrivorans SCUT-1. However, maximum Mn (207 mg/l), Pb (86 mg/l), and Ni (75 mg/l) removal was observed with enrichment culture of Leptospirillum strain YQP-1. Implications for metal mobilization along with alteration of artifacts from not only historic mining areas but also aspects of decontamination and remediation are discussed.     

Microbial communities in karst groundwater and their potential use for biomonitoring

The structure, diversity and dynamics of microbial communities from a swallow hole draining agricultural land and two connected karst springs (Switzerland) were studied using molecular microbiological methods and related to hydrological and physicochemical parameters. Storm responses and an annual hydrological cycle were monitored to determine the short- and long-term variability, respectively, of bacterial communities. Statistical analysis of bacterial genetic fingerprints (16S rDNA PCR-DGGE) of spring water samples revealed several clusters that corresponded well with different levels of the allochthonous swallow hole contribution. Microbial communities in spring water samples highly affected by the swallow hole showed low similarities among them, reflecting the high temporal variability of the bacterial communities infiltrating at the swallow hole. Conversely, high similarities among samples with low allochthonous contribution provided evidence for a stable autochthonous endokarst microbial community. Three spring samples, representative for low, medium and high swallow hole contribution, were analysed by cloning/sequencing in order to identify the major bacterial groups in the communities. The autochthonous endokarst microbial community was mainly characterized of δ-Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Nitrospira species. A high percentage of unknown sequences suggested further that many karst aquifer bacteria are still undiscovered. Finally, the potential use of groundwater biomonitoring using microbial communities is discussed.     

Patterns in the evolution of physiological specialization in salt-marsh animals

Patterns of tolerance to stressful abiotic variables among animals that have colonized salt marshes provide models for the study of the evolution of physiological specialization. We provide an overview of some closely related pairs or groups of species that show hierarchical gradations in tolerance, and thereby physiological mechanisms of compensation, along a line perpendicular to the shore. However, a full understanding of the evolution of physiological specialization requires that we evaluate the role of abiotic factors in light of the biotic interactions in which salt-marsh species are embedded. The common occurrence of salt-marsh endemics in a species-poor environment must be related to the unusual character of this habitat, in which the reduced importance of some biotic forces is paired with highly stressful abiotic factors. The salt marsh is probably not a refuge for competitively inferior forms so much as it is a highly selective environment that admits only those specialized species that can muster the necessary physiological adaptations. Thus the apparently lower competitive ability of salt-marsh species under conditions that are not abiotically stressful is likely to be a secondary consequence of the costs of mechanisms conferring tolerance, and of life in a species-poor habitat. Salt marshes provide an arena in which it is possible to experimentally evaluate the evolutionary and ecological importance of abiotic stress, especially in relation to parapatric or allotopic distributions. Yet very few studies have provided such a rigorous approach, despite a long-standing recognition that abiotic factors interact strongly with biotic forces in the salt marsh.     

Daily variability in abundance and population characteristics of tidal salt-marsh fauna

Nekton and macrocrustacean population levels and characteristics were studied in two similar tidal marsh creeks. Absolute and area-adjusted data were analyzed to determine variability resulting from daily population fluctuations. Two sampling schemes—intensive 3-d seasonal and periodic 1-d—were examined by constructing probability matrices to compare the accuracy of data comparisons resulting from each scheme. The probability of inaccuracies in comparisons of abundance using nonreplicated sampling schemes ranged from 0% to 100%. Significant differences between consecutive day data were observed for population characteristics such as blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) sex ratios, spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) length-weights, killifish: sciaenid ratios, and killifish: blue crab ratios. These data support the need to account for short-term variability when assessing mobile aquatic fauna abundance in estuarine wetlands.     

Influence of freshwater intrusion on microbial biomass in salt-marsh creeks

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), particulate organic carbon (POC), pH, temperature, and salinity associated with the water column of several salt marsh creeks were monitored at 5 stations for 8 months. A gradient in mean salinity of 11.5‰ to 32.7‰ was observed in the creeks. No significant correlations (Pearson’s r) could be found among the variables measured at the station with the highest salinity. ATP and POC were found to be positively correlated at all other stations. Salinity was found to be negatively correlated with both ATP and POC only at a station with the second highest mean salinity (28.8‰) and could account for only 45.7‰ of the variation in ATP. The lack of significant correlations between salinity and ATP as well as the inability of salinity to account for a large portion of the variation in ATP suggested that salinity had little relationship to the level of total microbial mass.     

Succession and productivity on perturbed and naturalSpartina salt-marsh areas in New Jersey

Vegetation growth on spoil placed on aSpartina patens andS. alterniflora marsh in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, was examined for two years following spoil deposition. In areas where spoil was leveled to match the elevation of the marsh, the percent cover by the end of the first growing season ranged from 60 to 90%. By the second year, cover was 100% in all study plots. Even during the first year, there was no difference in species diversity or vegetation species in the experimental and control areas. The percentage of shrubs did not increase on the perturbed (spoil) areas compared to the control plots. During the first year, but not the second, live and dead biomass was greater in the perturbed areas compared to the control plots. In an area where the spoil was thicker succession was exceedingly slow and there was only about 5% grass cover by the end of the first growing season. BecauseSpartina colonizes primarily by rhizome growth, the comparatively slow recovery was attributed to the inability of the grass to penetrate the thick spoil layer.     

Life history strategies of estuarine nekton: The role of marsh macrophytes,benthic microalgae,and phytoplankton in the trophic spectrum

The stable isotope signatures of marine transient and resident nekton were used to investigate trophic linkages between primary producers, marsh macrophytes, phytoplankton, benthic microalgae, and consumers within the Delaware Bay. A whole estuary approach was used to compare the flux of nutrients from primary producers to juvenile weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), and white perch (Morone americana) in open waters of the lower and upper Bay and adjacent salt marshes dominated by eitherSpartina alterniflora orPhragmites australis. Our results suggest that trophic linkages vary significantly along the salinity gradient, reflecting the transition fromSpartina toPhragmites-dominated marshes, and secondarily, in a marsh to open water (offshore) direction at a given salinity. Superimposed on this pattern was a gradient in the proximate use of organic matter that depended on life history traits of each species ranging from pelagic to benthic in the order bay anchovy > weakfish > white perch.     

Long-term growth and development of transplants of the salt-marsh grassSpartina alterniflora

Estuaries and Coasts - The effect of transplant spacings (45, 60, and 90 cm) on establishment ofSpartina alterniflora along an eroding shoreline in North Carolina was evaluated and annual biomass...