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1.
Monthly field sampling of active animals in a Louisiana coastal salt marsh monitored changes in size class frequency distributions, ovarian development of females, and rates of egg extrusion for two species ofUca endemic to the Gulf of Mexico. Ovigerous females occurred no earlier than February forUca spinicarpa and April forUca longisignalis. Peak percentages of ovigerous females were observed in June 1992 forUca longisignalis (67%) and in March 1993 forUca spinicarpa (85%). Peaks in ash-free dry weight (AFDW, in g) of females coincide with peak periods of ovarian development and subsequent ovigery. Mean biomass as AFDW of males and females combined forUca longisignalis was 0.26 g individual?1 and forUca spinicarpa was 0.17 g individual?1. A significant correlation existed between AFDW and carapace width in both species, males and females.U. longisignalis appears to be of warm-temperate lineage, and its reproductive activity is the more seasonally restricted, with later ovarian development, earliest egg laying delayed to late spring, and peak ovigery in summer. In keeping with putative tropical affinities ofUca spinicarpa, ovarian development is episodic over a longer-period from late winter to summer, and eggs are produced earlier in the year. The more striking seasonality in reproductive activity and biomass peaks forUca longisignalis may also reflect some nutritional dependency on temperate, annual marsh plants that characterize its preferred habitats.  相似文献   

2.
The potential for marsh plants to be vectors in the transport of mercury species was studied in the natural, mature, tidal China Camp salt marsh on San Pablo Bay. The fluxes of organic matter, mercury (THg), and monomethylmercury (MeHg) were studied in natural stands of Spartina foliosa and Salicornia virginica. Seasonal fluxes from the sediment into aboveground biomass of live plants and subsequent transfer into the dead plant community by mortality were measured. Loss of THg and MeHg from the dead plant community through fragmentation, leaching, and excretion were calculated and were similar to net uptake. Seasonal data were added up to calculate annual mass balances. In S. foliosa, annual net production was 1,757 g DW m?2, and the annual net uptakes in the aboveground biomass were 305 μg THg m?2 and 5.720 μg MeHg m?2. In S. virginica, annual net production was 2,117 g DW m?2, and the annual net uptakes in aboveground biomass were 99.120 μg THg m?2 and 1.990 μg MeHg m?2. Of both plant species studied, S. foliosa had a slightly lower production rate but greater mercury species uptake and loss rates than S. virginica, and, consequently, it is to be expected that S. foliosa matter may affect the local and possibly the regional food web relatively more than S. virginica. However, the actual effects of the input of mercury-species-containing plant-derived particulate matter into the food webs would depend on trophic level, food preference, seasonal cycle of the consumer, total sediment surface area vegetated, location of the vegetation in the marsh landscape, and estuary bay landscape. Since the levels of mercury species in dead plant material greatly exceed those in live plant material (on a dry weight basis), detritivores would ingest greater mercury species concentrations than herbivores, and consumers of S. foliosa would ingest more than consumers of S. virginica. The greatest THg and MeHg losses of both plant species due to mortality and to fragmentation–leaching–excretion occurred in late spring and early autumn, which corresponds to peak MeHg levels observed in sediments of coastal systems of previous studies, suggesting enhanced THg–MeHg export from the marsh to the nearshore sediment.  相似文献   

3.
The abundance of the marsh clamPolymesoda caroliniana at four stations on a Mississippi tidal marsh was followed from February 1977 through April 1978. The stations varied with respect to inundation time and vegetative cover. The largest population was found in an area flooded 12% of the year (136 individuals per m2) and in an area flooded 3.2% of the year (126 individuals per m2). However, the latter area contained no large clams (>25.5 mm). Smaller populations were found in the upper reaches of a tidal creek draining the marsh (68 individuals per m2) and in an area flooded 5.8% of the year (73 individuals per m2). The average abundance of the clams on the marsh was 100 per m2. At least three recruitment periods were apparent. In laboratory studies, clams larger than 15 mm survived longer than 30 days without water. Clams smaller than 12 mm survived less than 6 days without water. Several decapods (Callinectes sapidus, Uca longisignalis, andSesarma reticulatum) consumed clams smaller than 10 mm but were unable to eat larger clams under laboratory conditions.Polymesoda caroliniana may be important to the functioning of the marsh by removing large quantities of particulate matter from flooding water.  相似文献   

4.
Net annual primary production of a sedge Carex lyngbyei dominated tidal marsh in the Fraser River estuary, British Columbia, Canada was 634 g ash-free dry weight (AFDW) per m2 per yr (687 g dry weight per m2 per yr). Mean maximum shoot elongation during the short (May to August) growing season was 1.88 cm per day from overwintering shoots. The maximum aboveground standing crop of 690 g AFDW per m2 represented only 25% of the total below-ground biomass, which appears to be controlling most of the critical life history processes of the sedge marsh. An estimate of 14 percent of the aboveground standing crop was lost through leaching of dissolved organic carbon from the growting plant. Aboveground tissue losses, which were negligible during the growing season, occurred primarily via translocation in autumn and tidal export during the winter. In situ measurements showed that of the original maximum standing crop, approximately 38%, 37%, and 25% were lost by downward translocation, tidal export, and sediment burial, respectively. Based on changes in above and belowground nutrient pools, rapid spring (May to late June) uptake rates of 109 mg N per m2 per day and 23.0 mg P per m2 per day by shoots were followed by downward translocation rates of 44.8 mg N per m2 per day and 12.2 mg P per m2 per day during late June to the end of August. Aboveground leaching rates were estimated as 23.9 mg N per m2 per day and 7.8 mg P m2 per day and belowground uptake rates as 100 mg N per m2 per day and 26 mg P per m2 per day; root uptake occurred primarily after late June. Nutrient levels in decomposing litter more than doubled over the winter period showing a pattern of nutrient enrichment characteristic of marsh ecosystems. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY023 00004  相似文献   

5.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest marine oil spill in US waters to date and one of the largest worldwide. Impacts of this spill on salt marsh vegetation have been well documented, although impacts on marsh macroinvertebrates have received less attention. To examine impacts of the oil spill on an important marsh invertebrate and ecosystem engineer, we conducted a meta-analysis on fiddler crabs (Uca spp.) using published sources and newly available Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) and Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) data. Fiddler crabs influence marsh ecosystem structure and function through their burrowing and feeding activities and are key prey for a number of marsh and estuarine predators. We tested the hypothesis that the spill affected fiddler crab burrow density (crab abundance), burrow diameter (crab size), and crab species composition. Averaged across multiple studies, sites, and years, our synthesis revealed a negative effect of oiling on all three metrics. Burrow densities were reduced by 39 % in oiled sites, with impacts and incomplete recovery observed over 2010–2014. Burrow diameters were reduced from 2010 to 2011, but appeared to have recovered by 2012. Fiddler crab species composition was altered through at least 2013 and only returned to reference conditions where marsh vegetation recovered, via restoration planting in one case. Given the spatial and temporal extent of data analyzed, this synthesis provides compelling evidence that the Deepwater Horizon spill suppressed populations of fiddler crabs in oiled marshes, likely affecting other ecosystem attributes, including marsh productivity, marsh soil characteristics, and associated predators.  相似文献   

6.
Although top-down control of plant growth has been shown in a variety of marine systems, it is widely thought to be unimportant in salt marshes. Recent caging experiments in Virginia and Georgia have challenged this notion and shown that the dominant marsh grazer (the periwinkle,Littoraria irrorata) not only suppresses plant growth, but can denude marsh substrate at high densities. In these same marshes, our field observations suggest that the black-clawed mud crab,Panopeus herbstii, is an abundant and potentially important top-down determinant of periwinkle density. No studies have quantitatively examinedPanopeus distribution or trophic interactions in marsh systems, and its potential impacts on community structure remained unexplored. We investigated distribution and feeding habits ofPanopeus in eight salt marshes along the Mid-Atlantic seashore (Delaware-North Carolina). We found that mud crabs were abundant in tall (4–82 ind m?2), intermediate (0–15 ind m?2), and short-form (0–5 ind m?2)Spartina alterniflora zones in all marshes and that crab densities were negatively correlated with tidal height and positively correlated with bivalve density. Excavation of crab lairs r?utinely produced shells of plant-grazing snails (up to 36 lair?1) and bivalves. Lab experiments confirmed that mud crabs readily consume these abundant marsh molluscs. To experimentally examine potential community effects of observed predation patterns, we manipulated crab and periwinkle densities in a 1-mo field experiment. Results showed thatPanopeus can suppress gastropod abundance and that predation rates increase with increasing snail density. In turn, crab suppression of snail density reduces grazing intensity on salt marsh cordgrass, suggesting presence of a trophic cascade. These results indicate that this previously under-appreciated consumer is an important and indirect determinant of community structure and contribute to a growing body of evidence challenging the long-standing notion that consumers play a minor role in regulating marsh plant growth.  相似文献   

7.
Irrigation by benthic macrofauna has a major influence on the biogeochemistry and microbial community structure of sediments. Existing quantitative models of bioirrigation rely primarily on chemical, rather than ecological, information and the depth-dependence of bioirrigation intensity is either imposed or constrained through a data fitting procedure. In this study, stochastic simulations of 3D burrow networks are used to calculate mean densities, volumes and wall surface areas of burrows, as well as their variabilities, as a function of sediment depth. Burrow networks of the following model organisms are considered: the polychaete worms Nereis diversicolor and Schizocardium sp., the shrimp Callianassa subterranea, the echiuran worm Maxmuelleria lankesteri, the fiddler crabs Uca minax, U. pugnax and U. pugilator, and the mud crabs Sesarma reticulatum and Eurytium limosum. Consortia of these model organisms are then used to predict burrow networks in a shallow water carbonate sediment at Dry Tortugas, FL, and in two intertidal saltmarsh sites at Sapelo Island, GA. Solute-specific nonlocal bioirrigation coefficients are calculated from the depth-dependent burrow surface areas and the radial diffusive length scale around the burrows. Bioirrigation coefficients for sulfate obtained from network simulations, with the diffusive length scales constrained by sulfate reduction rate profiles, agree with independent estimates of bioirrigation coefficients based on pore water chemistry. Bioirrigation coefficients for O2 derived from the stochastic model, with the diffusion length scales constrained by O2 microprofiles measured at the sediment/water interface, are larger than irrigation coefficients based on vertical pore water chemical profiles. This reflects, in part, the rapid attenuation with depth of the O2 concentration within the burrows, which reduces the driving force for chemical transfer across the burrow walls. Correction for the depletion of O2 in the burrows results in closer agreement between stochastically-derived and chemically-derived irrigation coefficient profiles.  相似文献   

8.
We studied organic matter cycling in two Gulf Coast tidal, nonsaline marsh sites where subsidence causes marine intrusion and rapid submergence, which mimics increased sea-level rise. The sites experienced equally rapid submergence but different degrees of marine intrusion. Vegetation was hummocked and much of the marsh lacked rooted vegetation. Aboveground standing crop and production, as measured by sequential harvesting, were low relative to other Gulf CoastSpartina patens marshes. Soil bulk density was lower than reported for healthyS. alterniflora growth but that may be unimportant at the current, moderate sulfate levels. Belowground production, as measured by sequential harvesting, was extremely fast within hummocks, but much of the marsh received little or no belowground inputs. Aboveground production was slower at the more saline site (681 g m?2 yr?1) than at the less saline site (1,252 g m?2 yr?1). Belowground production over the entire marsh surface averaged 1,401 g m?2 yr?1 at the less saline site and 585 g m?2 yr?1 at the more saline site. Respiration, as measured by CO2 emissions in the field and corrected for CH4 emissions, was slower at the less saline site (956 g m?2 yr?1) than at the more saline site (1,438 g m?2 yr?1), reflecting greater contributions byS. alterniflora at the more saline site which is known to decompose more rapidly thanS. patens. Burial of organic matter was faster at the less saline site (796 g m?2 yr?1) than at the more saline site (434 g m?2, yr?1), likely in response to faster production and slower decomposition at the less saline site. Thus vertical accretion was faster at the less saline site (1.3 cm yr?1) than at the more saline site (0.85 cm yr?1); slower vertical accretion increased flooding at the more saline site. More organic matter was available for export at the less saline site (1,377 g m?2 yr?1) than at the more saline site (98 g m?2 yr?1). These data indicated that organic matter production decreased and burial increased in response to greenhouse-like conditions brought on by subsidence. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY069 00016  相似文献   

9.
We examined the effects of dredged material disposal on benthic macroinvertebrates in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA, while investigating the utility of estimating secondary production with estimation methods that have less rigorous data requirements than most classical techniques. Production estimates were compared to estimates of benthic consumption by blue crabs, shrimp, and epibenthic fish. There was no evidence that dredged material disposal had a detrimental impact on benthic production; however, production was low throughout the entire bay the year following dredged material disposal, which may have obscured an assessment of the impact of disposal. In fact, disposal sites yielded both the highest production estimates and species richness in both the upper and lower bay areas 2 yr after disposal. Of the five estimation methods used, two that incorporated environmental parameters (temperature and depth) yielded similar and moderate results, ranging from 1.1 g ash-free dry weight m2 yr1 to 26.9 g ash-free dry weight (AFDW) m?2 yr?1 over the 4 yr studied. Daily food ration estimates applied to fishery-independent trawl-survey data yielded overall benthic consumption estimates ranging from 1.1 g AFDW m?2 to 1.7 g AFDW m?2. A second method of estimating consumption, which used transfer efficiency estimates and annual fisheries statistics produced slightly lower benthic consumption estimates (0.72–1.13 g AFDW m?2). The average consumption estimate exceeded benthic production in the upper bay in one of the 4 yr for which benthic production was estimated. In years with high benthic production, the estimated benthic food requirement of epibenthic predators was roughly 10–15% of benthic production. Variation in annual benthic production estimates was two to three times greater than the variation in consumption estimates.  相似文献   

10.
Forty-eight core and grab samples were taken from two impoundments and an adjacent tidal creek and salt marsh during each of six sampling periods (January, June and November 1983; and January, April and July 1984). Habitats sampled within the impoundments included the perimeter ditch and shallow vegeted areas dominated byRuppia maritima, Spartina alterniflora, andScirpus robustus. The adjacent tidal creek bottom and low marsh ofS. alterniflora were sampled for comparison with the impoundment sites. Major differences in faunal composition and density of macrobenthic invertebrates were observed between habitats in this study. Macrobenthic density was highest (475 individuals 0.05 m?2) at the impoundment site dominated byScripus robustus, where oligochaetes were abundant. The open marsh site had a density of 254 individuals 0.05 m?2. Among unvegetated sites, density for all sampling periods was higher in Chainey Creek than in the perimeter ditches of the impoundments. The total number of taxa was highest for the open marsh and tidal creek sites. The impoundments contained vegetated sites which were inhabited by fewer species than nonimpounded sites, while the perimeter ditch sites were comparatively depauperate. Cluster and nodal analyses identified four broad assemblages based on habitat: 1) an open marsh assemblage, 2) a creek assemblage, 3) a eurytopic assemblage, and 4) an impoundment assemblage. The separation of faunal assemblages by sampling site rather than sampling period suggests that physical differences between habitats were important factors determining distribution patterns.  相似文献   

11.
This paper documents the role of salt marsh algal mats in the productivity of a southern California tidal wetland. The productivity of the mats, which are composed of filamentous bluegreen and green algae and diatoms, varies both temporally and spatially in relation to tidal inundation and overstory vegetation. The estimates of net primary productivity (NPP) were highest under the canopy ofJaumea carnosa (Less.) Gray (341 g C m?2 yr?1) at low elevation. Elsewhere, NPP appeared to be limited by low light (276 g C m?2 yr?1 underSpartina foliosa Trin.) and desiccation (185 g C m?2 yr?1 underBatis martima L. and 253 g C m?2 yr?1 underMonanthochloe littoralis Engelm). Algal NPP was from 0.8 to 1.4 times that of the vascular plant overstory NPP. It is hypothesized that the arid environment of southern California and resulting hypersaline soils reduce vascular plant cover, which leads to high algal productivity.  相似文献   

12.
N2 fixation associated with the epiphytic community on standing dead Spartina alterniflora shoots was examined in both a natural and transplanted salt marsh in North Carolina. Acetylene reduction (AR) assays were conducted over a 24-mo period to estimate N2 fixation rates on standing dead stems and leaves. In the natural salt marsh, mean AR rates ranged from 0.5 nmol C2H4 cm?2 h?1 to 14 nmol C2H4 cm?2 h?1, while in the transplanted marsh mean AR rates ranged from 1 nmol C2H4 cm?2 h?1 to 33 nmol C2H4 cm?2 h?1. Diel AR activity of epiphytic communities in both marshes varied seasonally. Midday incubations yielded higher AR rates than nighttime incubations in the spring, while midday incubations in late summer and fall generally yielded AR rates equal to or lower than nighttime incubations. Desiccation during low tides occasionally repressed AR activity, although AR rates quickly rebounded with wetting. AR activity was localized in the epiphytic community, rather than in the underlying Spartina stem material. Based on the measured AR rates and the density of standing dead stems, the annual input of new N to the natural salt marsh via epiphytic N2 fixation is estimated to be 2.6 g N m?2 yr?1. The estimate of annual input of new N to the transplanted marsh is 3.8 g N m?2 yr?1. These estimates should be added to previous estimates of N2 fixation in marsh sediments to estimate the total contribution of new nitrogen to salt marsh nitrogen budgets.  相似文献   

13.
Fluxes of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere at 52 sites within a salt marsh were measured by a dark static chamber technique from mid July to mid September. Mean CH4 fluxes ranged from 0.2 mg m?2 d?1 to 11.0 mg m?2 d?1, with an overall average of 1.6 mg m?2 d?1. Flux of CH4 was inversely correlated (r2=0.23, p = 0.001) with salinity of the upper porewater at the site, suggesting the dominant role of SO4 2? in inhibiting methanogenesis in salt-marsh sediments. The combination of salinity and water table position was able to explain only 29% of the variance in CH4 emission. Mean soil flux of CO2 ranged from 0.3 g m?2 d?1 to 3.7 g m?2 d?1, with an overall average of 2.5 g m?2 d?1; it was correlated with aboveground biomass (positive, r2=0.38, p = 0.001) and position of the water table (negative, r2 = 0.55, p = 0.001). The combination of biomass and water table position accounted for 63% of the variance in CO2 flux. There were high variations in gas flux within the six plant communities. The sequences were CH4: upland edge > panne > pool > middle marsh > low marsh > high marsh, and CO2: middle marsh > low marsh > upland edge > high marsh > panne > pool. Compared to other salt-marsh systems, this Bay of Fundy marsh emits small amounts of CH4 and CO2.  相似文献   

14.
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).  相似文献   

15.
16.
Monthly sampling of a 140-ha seagrass bed in the lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, revealed that 13 numerically and trophically important species, representing about 20% of the total community densities over the year-long study period, accounted for the production of ≈42 g dry wt m?2 yr?1. This estimate is likely conservative due to our assumptions on voltinism and fixed size at maturity regardless of season for the species studied. The isopodErichsonella attenuata accounted for 17.6 g dry wt m?2 yr?1 or 42% of the calculated total production, while the portunid decapodCallinectes sapidus and the amphipodGammarus mucronatus each accounted for 7.7 g dry wt m?2 yr?1. The 10 remaining species (4 peracarids, 4 molluscs, and 2 decapods) each produced less than 2 g dry wt m?2 yr?1. Total seagrass-associated secondary production was estimated to equal or exceed 200 g dry wt m?2yr?1. By applying this estimate to the entire 140-ha grassbed, we projected that, on average, 4.8 metric tons dry wt of invertebrate standing stock and 55.9 metric tons of invertebrate production occur over the year.  相似文献   

17.
Community structure and intertidal zonation of the macrobenthos on a macrotidal, ultra-dissipative beach were studied. On the beach of De Panne, Belgium, six transects perpendicular to the waterline (each with five stations) were sampled in September 1995 (summer) and March 1996 (winter). The 30 stations were distributed across the continuum from mean high water spring to mean low water spring in order to sample the macrobenthos at different levels of elevation. The 39 species found had total densities up to 5,500 ind m−2 in summer and 1,400 ind m−2 in winter. The highest densities were found in the spionid polychaetesScolelepis squamata andSpio filicornis, the nephtyid polychaeteNephtys cirrosa, the cirolanid isopodEurydice pulchra, and the haustorid amphipodsBathyporeia spp. Based on species composition, specific densities, and biomass, two species associations were defined: a relatively species-poor, high intertidal species association, dominated byS. squamata and with an average density of 1,413 ind m−2 and biomass of 808 mg AFDW m−2 (summer); and a relatively species-rich, low intertidal species association, dominated byN. cirrosa, and with an average density of 104 ind m−2 and biomass of 162 mg AFDW m−2 in summer. For both seasons, the high intertidal species association was restricted in its intertidal distribution between the mean tidal and the mean high-water spring level, whereas the low intertidal species association was found from the mean tidal level to the subtidal. The latter showed good affinities with the subtidalN. cirrosa species association occurring just offshore of De Panne beach, confirming the existence of a relationship between the low intertidal and subtidal macrobenthic species associations. Summer-winter comparison revealed a strong decrease in densities and biomass in the high intertidal zone during winter. Habitat continuity of the low intertidal zone with the subtidal allows subtidal organisms to repopulate the low intertidal zone.  相似文献   

18.
We sampled nekton (fishes and decapod crustaceans) in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) (Potanogeton nodosus, Najas guadalupensis), in emergent marsh vegetation (Sagittaria spp. andScirpus americanus), and over unvegetated bottom associated with three islands in the Atchafalaya River Delta, Louisiana. The purpose of our study was to quantify nekton densities in these major aquatic habitat types and to document the relative importance of these areas to numerically dominant aquatic organisms. We collected a total of 33 species of fishes and 7 species of crustaceans in 298 1-m2 throw trap samples taken over three seasons: summer (July and August 1994), fall (September and October 1994), and spring (May and June 1995). Fishes numerically accounted for >65% of the total organisms collected. Vegetated areas generally supported much higher nekton densities than unvegetated sites, although bay anchoviesAnchoa mitchilli were more abundant over unvegetated bottom than in most vegetated habitat types. Among vegetation types, most species showed no apparent preference between SAV and marsh. However, inland silversidesMenidia beryllina and freshwater gobiesGobionellus shufeldti were most abundant inScirpus marsh in summer, and blue crabsCallinectes sapidus were most abundant in SAV (Potamogeton) in spring. Several species (sheepshead minnowCyprinodon variegatus, rainwater killifishLucania parva, and blue crab) apparently selected the vegetated backmarsh of islands (opposite of riverside) over stream-sideScirpus marsh. Freshwater gobies, in contrast, were most abundant in streamsideScirpus marsh. Densities of juvenile blue crabs were high (up to 17 m−2) in vegetated delta habitat types and comparable to values reported from more saline regions of Gulf Coast estuaries. Shallow vegetated habitat types of the Atchafalaya River Delta and other tidal freshwater systems of the Gulf Coast may be important nursery areas for blue crabs and other estuarine species.  相似文献   

19.
Recent (6–12 month) marsh sediment accretion and accumulation rates were measured with feldspar marker horizons in the vicinity of natural waterways and man-made canals with spoil banks in the rapidly subsiding environment of coastal Louisiana. Annual accretion rates in aSpartina alterniflora salt marsh in the Mississippi deltaic plain averaged 6 mm in marsh adjacent to canals compared to 10 mm in marsh adjacent to natural waterways. The rates, however, were not statistically significantly different. The average rate of sediment accretion in the same salt marsh region for a transect perpendicular to a canal (13 mm yr?1) was significantly greater than the rate measured for a transect perpendicular to a natural waterway (7 mm yr?1). Measurements of soil bulk density and organic matter content from the two transects were also different. This spatial variability in accretion rates is probably related to (1) spoil bank influences on local hydrology; and (2) a locally high rate of sediment input from lateral erosion associated with pond enlargement. In a brackishSpartina patens marsh on Louisiana’s Chenier plain, vertical accretion rates were the same along natural and canal waterways (3–4 mm yr?1) in a hydrologically restricted marsh region. However, the accretion rates for both waterways were significantly lower than the rates along a nonhydrologically restricted natural waterway nearby (11 mm yr?1). The vertical accretion of matter displayed semi-annual differences in the brackish marsh environment.  相似文献   

20.
Annual acetylene reduction rates associated with interidal communities in a chronically oil polluted Virginia salt marsh were compared to rates measured in an undisturbed marsh. Chronic oil treatment resulted in visible damage to the higher plants of theSpartina alterniflora zones; however, vegetation-associated acetylene, reduction was not different from the untreated control. Sediment rates generally were affected little by oil application, except during the summer when rates in the median tidal elevation zones were considerably higher than those of the control. Acetylene reduction occurred in all transects, each of which extended from upper mudflat to theSpartina patens zone. Intertidal sediment acetylene reduction was patchy, both spatially and seasonally. Estimated rates were greatest near the surface; free-living bacterial N2 fixation activity averaged 2.23 mg N per m2 per d (range=undetectable to 365 mg N per m2 per d) in the untreated and 3.17 mg N per m2 per d (range=undetectable to 564 mg N per m2 per d) in the oil-treated marsh during the year. Vegetation-associated N2 fixation activity yielded highest overall mean rates (156 mg N per m2 per d). The seasonal pattern of sediment and vegetation-associated fixation may be controlled by temperature and availability of oxidizable substrates.  相似文献   

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