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1.
Filter-feeding bivalves, like oysters, couple pelagic primary production with benthic microbial processes by consuming plankton from the water column and depositing unassimilated material on sediment. Conceptual models suggest that at low to moderate oyster densities, this deposition can stimulate benthic denitrification by providing denitrifying bacteria with organic carbon and nitrogen (N). While enhanced denitrification has been found at oyster reefs, data from oyster aquaculture are limited and equivocal. This study measured seasonal rates of denitrification, as well as dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), and dissolved inorganic N fluxes at a rack and bag eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) aquaculture farm. Consistent with models, denitrification was enhanced within the farm, with an average annual increase of 350% compared to a reference site. However, absolute denitrification rates were low relative to other coastal systems, reaching a maximum of 19.2 μmol m?2 h?1. Denitrification appeared to be nitrate (NO3 ?) limited, likely due to inhibited nitrification caused by sediment anoxia. Denitrification may also have been limited by competition for NO3 ? with DNRA, which accounted for an average of 76% of NO3 ? reduction. Consequently, direct release of ammonium (NH4 +) from mineralization to the water column was the most significant benthic N pathway, with seasonal rates exceeding 900 μmol m?2 h?1 within the farm. The enhanced N processes were spatially limited however, with significantly higher rates directly under oysters, compared to in between oyster racks. For commercial aquaculture farms like this, with moderate oyster densities (100–200 oysters m?2), denitrification may be enhanced, but nonetheless limited by biodeposition-induced sediment anoxia. The resulting shift in the sediment N balance toward processes that regenerate reactive N to the water column rather than remove N is an important consideration for water quality.  相似文献   

2.
Assessing nitrogen dynamics in the estuarine landscape is challenging given the unique effects of individual habitats on nitrogen dynamics. We measured net N2 fluxes, sediment oxygen demand, and fluxes of ammonium and nitrate seasonally from five major estuarine habitats: salt marshes, seagrass beds (SAV), oyster reefs, and intertidal and subtidal flats. Net N2 fluxes ranged from 332?±?116 μmol?N-N2?m?2?h?1 from oyster reef sediments in the summer to ?67?±?4 μmol?N-N2?m?2?h?1 from SAV in the winter. Oyster reef sediments had the highest rate of N2 production of all habitats. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) was measured during the summer and winter. DNRA was low during the winter and ranged from 4.5?±?3.0 in subtidal flats to 104?±?34 μmol?15NH 4 + ?m?2?h?1 in oyster reefs during the summer. Annual denitrification, accounting for seasonal differences in inundation and light, ranged from 161.1?±?19.2 mmol?N-N2?m?2?year?1 for marsh sediments to 509.9?±?122.7 mmol?N-N2?m?2?year?1 for SAV sediments. Given the current habitat distribution in our study system, an estimated 28.3?×?106?mol of N are removed per year or 76 % of estimated watershed nitrogen load. These results indicate that changes in the area and distribution of habitats in the estuarine landscape will impact ecosystem function and services.  相似文献   

3.
The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is a prominent ecosystem engineer, whose reefs exhibit strikingly consistent morphologies at multiple spatial scales throughout its North American range. These distinct morphologies are thought to form by interactions of nascent reef structures with hydrodynamics. We carried out two field studies to determine if historical reef configurations applied in a restoration context would improve reef persistence and restoration outcomes. We collected seabed and water column observations across constructed reefs of three orientations representative of those found historically throughout the oyster’s range: parallel or perpendicular to tidal currents or circular. Areas adjacent to reefs were sites of fine sediment trapping, with lower flow velocities, evidence of particle settling, and more fine sediments on the seabed relative to off-reef reference sites. The water column above the reef crest exhibited higher acoustic backscatter, higher flow velocities, and larger particles in suspension, consistent with local erosion of flocculated fine sediment from the reef crest. Perpendicular reefs produced conditions that were more conducive to reef persistence and improved oyster performance, including high flow velocities and enhanced resuspension of sediments from the reef, compared to parallel or circular reefs. Particle trapping in areas between reefs has the potential to inhibit reef growth between existing reef structures, providing support for hypotheses of landscape-scale reef pattern formation. Oyster reef restoration efforts can benefit from this improved understanding of biophysical interactions arising from reef orientation that contribute to sediment dynamics on constructed oyster reefs.  相似文献   

4.
The restoration of dead/degraded oyster reefs is increasingly pursued worldwide to reestablish harvestable populations or renew ecosystem services. Evidence suggests that oysters can improve water quality, but less is known about the role of associated benthic sediments in promoting biogeochemical processes, such as nutrient cycling and burial. There is also limited understanding of if, or how long postrestoration, a site functions like a natural reef. This study investigated key biogeochemical properties (e.g., physiochemical properties, nutrient pools, microbial community size and activity) in the sediments of dead reefs; 1-, 4-, and 7-year-old restored reefs; and natural reference reefs of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, in Mosquito Lagoon (FL, USA). Results indicated that most of the measured biogeochemical properties (dissolved organic carbon (C), NH4 +, total C, total nitrogen (N), and the activity of major extracellular enzymes involved in C, N, and phosphorus (P) cycling) increased significantly by 1-year postrestoration, relative to dead reefs, and then remained fairly constant as the reefs continued to age. Few differences were observed in biogeochemical properties between restored reefs of any age (1 to 7 years) and natural reference reefs. Variability among reefs of the same treatment category was often correlated with differences in the number of live oysters, reef thickness, and/or the availability of C and N in the sediments. Overall, this study demonstrates the role of live intertidal oyster reefs as biogeochemical hot spots for nutrient cycling and burial and the rapidity (within 1 year) with which biogeochemical properties can be reestablished following successful restoration.  相似文献   

5.
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) flux dynamics were examined in the context of other biogeochemical cycles in intertidal sediments inhabited by benthic microalgae. In August 2003, gross oxygenic photosynthetic (GOP) rates, oxygen penetration depths, and benthic flux rates were quantified at seven sites along the Duplin River, GA, USA. Sediments contained abundant benthic microalgal (BMA) biomass with a maximum chlorophyll a concentration of 201 mg chl a m?2. Oxygen microelectrodes were used to determine GOP rates and O2 penetration depth, which were tightly correlated with light intensity. Baseline and 15N-nitrate amended benthic flux core incubations were employed to quantify benthic fluxes and to investigate the impact of BMA on sediment water exchange under nitrogen (N)-limited and N-replete conditions. Unamended sediments exhibited tight coupling between GOP and respiration and served as a sink for water column dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and a source of silicate and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The BMA response to the N addition indicated sequential nutrient limitation, with N limitation followed by silicate limitation. In diel (light–dark) incubations, biological assimilation accounted for 83% to 150% of the nitrate uptake, while denitrification (DNF) and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) accounted for <7%; in contrast, under dark conditions, DNF and DNRA accounted for >40% of the NO3 ? uptake. The N addition shifted the metabolic status of the sediments from a balance of autotrophy and heterotrophy to net autotrophy under diel conditions, and the sediments served as a sink for water column DIN, silicate, and DIC but became a source of DOC, suggesting that the increased BMA production was decoupled from sediment bacterial consumption of DOC.  相似文献   

6.
The conversion of undisturbed coastal regions to commercial and suburban developments may pose a threat to surface and groundwater quality by introducing nitrate-nitrogen (NO3 ?-N) from runoff of land-applied wastewater and fertilizers. Microbial denitrification is an important NO3 ?-N removal mechanism in coastal sediments. The objective of this study was to compare denitrification and nitrate conversion rates in coastal sediments from a golf course, suburban site, undeveloped marsh, and nonmarsh area near rapidly developing Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Nitrous oxide was measured using gas chromatography and nitrate and ammonium concentrations were measured using a flow injection autoanalyzer in microcosms spiked, with 50 μg NO3 ?-N gdw?1. The two marsh sites had the greatest ammonium production, which was correlated with fine sediment particle size and higher background sediment nitrate and surface water sulfate concentrations. The golf course swale had greatest denitrification rates, which were correlated with higher total carbon and organic nitrogen in sediments. Nitrate was consumed in golf course sediments to a greater extent than in the undeveloped marsh and upland freshwater sites, suggesting that the undeveloped sites and receiving estuaries may be more susceptible to nitrate contamination than the golf course swale and marsh under nonstorm conditions. Construction of swales and vegetated buffers using sediments with high organic carbon content as best management practices may aid in removing nitrate and other contaminants from runoff prior to its transport to the receiving marsh and estuary.  相似文献   

7.
Benthic nitrogen (N) cycling was investigated at six stations along a transect traversing the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) at 11°S. An extensive dataset including porewater concentration profiles and in situ benthic fluxes of nitrate (NO3−), nitrite (NO2−) and ammonium (NH4+) was used to constrain a 1-D reaction-transport model designed to simulate and interpret the measured data at each station. Simulated rates of nitrification, denitrification, anammox and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) by filamentous large sulfur bacteria (e.g. Beggiatoa and Thioploca) were highly variable throughout the OMZ yet clear trends were discernible. On the shelf and upper slope (80-260 m water depth) where extensive areas of bacterial mats were present, DNRA dominated total N turnover (?2.9 mmol N m−2 d−1) and accounted for ?65% of NO3− + NO2− uptake by the sediments from the bottom water. Nonetheless, these sediments did not represent a major sink for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN = NO3− + NO2− + NH4+) since DNRA reduces NO3− and, potentially NO2−, to NH4+. Consequently, the shelf and upper slope sediments were recycling sites for DIN due to relatively low rates of denitrification and high rates of ammonium release from DNRA and ammonification of organic matter. This finding contrasts with the current opinion that sediments underlying OMZs are a strong sink for DIN. Only at greater water depths (300-1000 m) did the sediments become a net sink for DIN. Here, denitrification was the major process (?2 mmol N m−2 d−1) and removed 55-73% of NO3− and NO2− taken up by the sediments, with DNRA and anammox accounting for the remaining fraction. Anammox was of minor importance on the shelf and upper slope yet contributed up to 62% to total N2 production at the 1000 m station. The results indicate that the partitioning of oxidized N (NO3−, NO2−) into DNRA or denitrification is a key factor determining the role of marine sediments as DIN sinks or recycling sites. Consequently, high measured benthic uptake rates of oxidized N within OMZs do not necessarily indicate a loss of fixed N from the marine environment.  相似文献   

8.
Bottom-water hypoxia effects on sediment–water interface nitrogen (N) transformations in Corpus Christi Bay (TX, USA) were examined using continuous-flow intact sediment core incubations. Sediment cores were collected from three sites in August 2002 (summer hypoxia) and April 2003 (normoxia). Oxygen (O2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) depth profiles were generated with microelectrodes. Membrane inlet mass spectrometry was used to measure sediment O2 demand and net N2 flux and combined with isotope pairing to determine potential denitrification and N fixation. Potential dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Sediment O2 penetration depths ranged from 5 to 10 mm. H2S ranged from being present in overlying water and throughout the sediment column in August to not detectable in overlying water or sediment in April. Sediment O2 demand was higher during bottom-water normoxia conditions versus hypoxia. Sediments were a significant source of \textNH\text4\text + {\text{NH}}_{\text{4}}^{\text{ + }} to overlying water during hypoxia but not during normoxia. Net N2 fixation was observed at one station in August and all stations in April. Denitrification rates were significantly higher during hypoxia at two of three sites. Potential DNRA was observed during both oxic states, but rates were significantly higher during hypoxia, which may reflect sulfide enhancement and absence of cation exchange with \text14 \textNH\text4\text + ^{{\text{14}}} {\text{NH}}_{\text{4}}^{\text{ + }} . DNRA may contribute to formation and maintenance of bottom-water hypoxic events in this system. These results show that N transformation pathways and rates change when bottom-water O2 concentrations drop to hypoxic levels. Since south Texas is a semiarid region with few episodic runoff events, these results indicate that Corpus Christi Bay sediments are a N source most of the year, and denitrification may drive N limitation between episodic runoff events.  相似文献   

9.
Aquaculture currently provides half of all fish for human consumption, and this proportion is expected to increase to meet the growing global demand for protein. As aquaculture, including oyster farming, expands, it is increasingly important to understand effects on coastal ecosystems. The broad-scale ecological effects of oyster aquaculture are well documented; however, less is known regarding the influence of oyster aquaculture on sediment bacterial communities. To better understand this relationship, we compared three different oyster farming practices that varied in oyster biomass and proximity of oysters to the sediment. We used high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to examine the effect of oyster farming on sediment bacterial communities. We examined the entire bacterial community and looked specifically at bacteria that support essential estuarine ecosystem services (denitrifiers), as well as bacteria that can be detrimental to human health (members of the Vibrio genus). We found that oyster biomass increased Vibrio richness and sediment carbon content, which influenced bacterial community composition. When compared to reference sites, the overall abundance of bacteria was increased by the bottom planting method, but the associated increases in denitrifiers and Vibrio were not significant. We were unable to detect V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, or V. cholera, the three most common Vibrio pathogens, in any sample, suggesting that oyster farming did not enhance these potential human pathogens in sediments at the time of sampling. These results highlight how differences in oyster farming practice can affect sediment bacterial communities, and the ecosystem services they provide.  相似文献   

10.
Benthic respiration, sediment–water nutrient fluxes, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) were measured in the upper section of the Parker River Estuary from 1993 to 2006. This site experiences large changes in salinity over both short and long time scales. Sediment respiration ranged from 6 to 52 mmol m−2 day−1 and was largely controlled by temperature. Nutrient fluxes were dominated by ammonium fluxes, which ranged from a small uptake of −0.3 to an efflux of over 8.2 mmol N m−2 day−1. Ammonium fluxes were most highly correlated with salinity and laboratory experiments demonstrated that ammonium fluxes increased when salinity increased. The seasonal pattern of DNRA closely followed salinity. DNRA rates were extremely low in March, less than 0.1 mmol m−2 day−1, but increased to 2.0 mmol m−2 day−1 in August. In contrast, denitrification rates were inversely related to salinity, ranging from 1 mmol m−2 day−1 during the spring and fall to less than 0.2 mmol m−2 day−1 in late summer. Salinity appears to exert a major control on the nitrogen cycle at this site, and partially decouples sediment ammonium fluxes from organic matter decomposition.  相似文献   

11.
In shallow photic systems, the benthic filter, including microphytobenthos and denitrifiers, is important in preventing or reducing release of remineralized NH4 + to the water column. Its effectiveness can be impacted by climate-related drivers, including temperature and storminess, which by increasing wind and freshwater delivery can resuspend sediment, reduce salinity and deliver nutrients, total suspended solids, and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) to coastal systems. Increases in temperature and freshwater delivery may initiate a cascade of responses affecting benthic metabolism with impacts on sediment properties, which in turn regulate nitrogen cycling processes that either sequester (via microphytobenthos), remove (via denitrification), or increase sediment nitrogen (via remineralization, nitrogen fixation, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium). We conducted a seasonal study at shallow stations to assess the effects of freshwater inflow, temperature, wind, light, and CDOM on sediment properties, benthic metabolism, nitrogen cycling processes, and the effectiveness of the benthic filter. We also conducted a depth study to constrain seasonally varying parameters such as temperature to better assess the effects of light availability and water depth on benthic processes. Based on relationships observed between climatic drivers and response variables, we predict a reduction in the effectiveness of the benthic filter over the long term with feedbacks that will increase effluxes of N to the water column with the potential to contribute to system eutrophication. This may push shallow systems past a tipping point where trophic status moves from net autotrophy toward net heterotrophy, with new baselines characterized by degraded water quality.  相似文献   

12.
Coastal ocean primary productivity is often limited by nitrogen (N) availability, which is determined by the balance between N sources (e.g., N-fixation, groundwater, river inputs, etc.) and sinks (e.g., denitrification, sediment burial, etc.). Historically, heterotrophic N-fixation in sediments was excluded as a significant source of N in estuarine budgets, based on low, indirectly measured rates (e.g., acetylene reduction assay) and because it was unnecessary to achieve mass balance. Many recent studies using net N2 flux measurements have shown that sediment N-fixation can equal or exceed N2 loss. In an effort to quantify N2 production and consumption simultaneously, we measured N-fixation and denitrification directly in sediment cores from a temperate estuary (Waquoit Bay, MA). N-fixation, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, and denitrification occurred simultaneously, and the net N2 flux shifted from uptake (N-fixation) to efflux (denitrification) over the 120-h incubation. Evidence for N-fixation included net 28N2 and 30N2 uptake, 15NH4 + production from 30N2 additions, 15Norganic matter production, and nifH expression. N-fixation from 30N2 was up to eight times higher than potential denitrification. However, N-fixation calculated from 15NO3 ? was one half of the measured fixation from 30N2, indicating that 15NO3-isotope labeling calculations may underestimate N-fixation. These results highlight the dynamic nature of sediment N cycling and suggest that quantifying individual processes allows a greater understanding of what net N2 fluxes signify and how that balance varies over time.  相似文献   

13.
Increased interest in using bivalve cultivation to mitigate eutrophication requires a comprehensive understanding of the net carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) budgets associated with cultivation on an ecosystem scale. This study quantified C and N processes related to clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) aquaculture in a shallow coastal environment (Cherrystone Inlet, VA) where the industry has rapidly increased. Clam physiological rates were compared with basin-wide ecosystem fluxes including primary production, benthic nutrient regeneration, and respiration. Although clam beds occupy only 3 % of the ecosystem’s surface area, clams filtered 7–44 % of the system’s volume daily, consumed an annual average of 103 % of the phytoplankton production, creating a large flux of particulate C and N to the sediments. Annually, N regenerated and C respired by clam and microbial metabolism in clam beds were ～3- and ～1.5-fold higher, respectively, than N and C removed through harvest. Due to the short water residence time, the low watershed load, and the close vicinity of clam beds to the mouth of Cherrystone Inlet, cultivated clams are likely subsidized by phytoplankton from the Chesapeake Bay. Consequently, much of the N released by mineralization associated with clam cultivation is “new” N as it would not be present in the system without bivalve facilitation. Macroalgae that are fueled by the enhanced N regeneration from clams represents a eutrophying process resulting from aquaculture. This synthesis demonstrates the importance of considering impacts of bivalve aquaculture in an ecosystem context especially relative to the potential of bivalves to remove nutrients and enhance C sinks.  相似文献   

14.
The importance of intertidal estuarine habitats, like salt marsh and oyster reef, has been well established, as has their ubiquitous loss along our coasts with resultant forfeiture of the ecosystem services they provide. Furthering our understanding of how these habitats are evolving in the face of anthropogenic and climate driven changes will help improve management strategies. Previous work has shown that the growth and productivity of both oyster reefs and salt marshes are strongly linked to elevation in the intertidal zone (duration of aerial exposure). We build on that research by examining the growth of marsh-fringing oyster reefs at yearly to decadal time scales and examine movement of the boundary between oyster reef and salt marsh at decadal to centennial time scales. We show that the growth of marsh-fringing reefs is strongly associated to the duration of aerial exposure, with little growth occurring below mean low water and above mean sea level. Marsh-shoreline movement, in the presence or absence of fringing oyster reefs, was reconstructed using transects of sediment cores. Carbonaceous marsh sediments sampled below the modern fringing oyster reefs indicate that marsh shorelines within Back Sound, North Carolina are predominantly in a state of transgression (landward retreat), and modern oyster-reef locations were previously occupied by salt marsh within the past two centuries. Cores fronting transgressive marsh shorelines absent fringing reefs sampled thinner and less extensive carbonaceous marsh sediment than at sites with fringing reefs. This indicates that fringing reefs are preserving carbonaceous marsh sediment from total erosion as they transgress and colonize the exposed marsh shoreline making marsh sediments more resistant to erosion. The amount of marsh sediment preservation underneath the reef scales with the reef’s relief, as reefs with the greatest relief were level with the marsh platform, preserving a maximum amount of carbonaceous sediments during transgression by buffering the marsh from erosional processes. Thus, fringing oyster reefs not only have the capacity to shelter shorelines but, if located at the ideal tidal elevation, they also keep up with accelerating sea-level rise and cap carbonaceous sediments, protecting them from erosion, as reefs develop along the marsh.  相似文献   

15.
The Nauset Marsh estuary is the most extensive (9.45 km2) and least disturbed salt marsh/estuarine system within the Cape Cod National Seashore, even though much of the 19 km2 watershed area of the estuary is developed for residential or commercial purposes. Because all of the Nauset watershed is serviced by on-site individual sewage disposal systems, there is concern over the potential impact of groundwater-derived nutrients passing from these systems to the shallow receiving waters of the estuary. The purpose of this study was to determine whether denitrification (the bacterial conversion of nitrate to gaseous nitrogen) in estuarine sediments could effectively remove the nitrate from contaminated groundwater before it passed from the watershed to the estuary. Rates of denitrification were measured both in situ and in sediment cores, in areas of active groundwater discharge, in relatively pristine locations, and in areas situated down-gradient of moderate to heavily developed regions of the watershed. Denitrification rates for 47 sediment cores taken over an annual cycle at 5 stations ranged from non-detectable to 47 μmol N2 m−2 h−. Mean denitrification rates were positively correlated with sediment organic content, and varied seasonally due to changes in sediment organic content and to the effect of water temperatures on sediment oxygen penetration depths. There was no correlation between observed denitrification rates and corresponding nitrate concentrations in groundwater. A comparison of in situ denitrification rates (supported by groundwater nitrate) with denitrification rates observed in sediment cores (supported by remineralized nitrate) showed that groundwater-driven denitrification rates were small, and not in excess of denitrification rates supported by remineralized nitrate. Most of the denitrification in Nauset sediments was apparently fueled by remineralized nitrate through coupled nitrification/denitrification. Denitrification did not contribute significantly to the direct loss of nitrate from incoming groundwater at Nauset Marsh estuary. Groundwater flow was rapid, and much of it occurred in freshwater springs and seeps through very coarse, sandy, well-oxygenated sediments of limited organic content. There was little opportunity for denitrification to occur during groundwater passage through these sediments. These results have important management implications because they suggest that the majority of nitrogen from contaminated groundwater crosses the sediment/water interface and arrives at Nauset Estuary, where it is available to primary producers. Preliminary budget calculations suggest that while denitrification was not an effective mechanism for the direct removal of nitrate in contaminated groundwater flowing to Nauset Marsh estuary, it may contribute to significant nitrogen losses from the estuary itself.  相似文献   

16.
Oyster cultch was added to the lower intertidal marsh-sandflat fringe of three previously createdSpartina alterniflora salt marshes. Colonization of these created reefs by oysters and other select taxa was examined. Created reefs supported numerous oyster reef-associated faunas at equivalent or greater densities than adjacent natural reefs. Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) settlement at one site of created reef exceeded that of the adjacent natural reefs within 9 mo of reef creation. After only 2 yr, harvestable-sizeC. virginica (>75 mm) were present in the created reefs along with substantial numbers ofC. virginica clusters. The created reefs also had a higher number of molluscan, fish, and decapod species than the adjacent natural reefs. After 2 yr the densities ofC. virginica, striped barnacle (Balanus amphitrite), scorched mussel (Brachidontes exustus), Atlantic ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa), common mud crab (Panopeus herbstii), and flat mud crab (Eurypanopeus depressus) within the created reefs were equivalent to that of adjacent natural reefs. From these data it is evident that created oyster reefs can quickly acquire functional ecological attributes of their natural counterparts. Because the demand for oysters continues to increase in the face of dwindling natural resources, habitat creation techniques need to evolve and these approaches need to consider the ancillary ecological benefits reef creation may provide. Reef function as well as physical and ecological linkages of oyster reefs to other habitats (marsh, submerged aquatic vegetation, and bare bottom) should be considered when reefs are created in order to provide the best use of resources to maintain the integrity of estuarine systems.  相似文献   

17.
To determine the removal of regenerated nitrogen by estuarine sediments, we compared sediment N2 fluxes to the stoichiometry of nutrient and O2 fluxes in cores collected in the Childs River, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The difference between the annual PO4 3− (0.2 mol P m−2 yr−1) and NH4 + (1.6 mol N m−2 yr−1) flux and the Redfield N∶P ratio of 16 suggested an annual deficit of 1.5 mol N m−2 yr−1. Denitrification predicted from O2∶NH4 + flux ratios and measured as N2 flux suggested a nitrogen sink of roughly the same magnitude (1.4 mol N m−2 yr−1). Denitrification accounted for low N∶P ratios of benthic flux and removed 32–37% of nitrogen inputs entering the relatively highly nutrient loaded Childs River, despite a relatively brief residence time for freshwater in this system. Uptake of bottom water nitrate could only supply a fraction of the observed N2 flux. Removal of regenerated nitrogen by denitrification in this system appears to vary seasonally. Denitrification efficiency was inversely correlated with oxygen and ammonium flux and was lowest in summer. We investigated the effect of organic matter on denitrification by simulating phytoplankton deposition to cores incubated in the lab and by deploying chambers on bare and macroaglae covered sediments in the field. Organic matter addition to sediments increased N2 flux and did not alter denitrification efficiency. Increased N2 flux co-varied with O2 and NH4 + fluxes. N2 flux (261±60 μmol m−2 h−1) was lower in chambers deployed on macroalgal beds than deployed on bare sediments (458±70 μmol m−2 h−1), and O2 uptake rate was higher in chambers deployed on macroalgal beds (14.6±2.2 mmol m−2 h−1) than on bare sediments (9.6±1.5 mmol m−2 h−1). Macroalgal cover, which can retain nitrogen in the system, is a link between nutrient loading and denitrification. Decreased denitrification due to increasing macroalgal cover could create a positive feedback because decreasing denitrification would increase nitrogen availability and could increase macroalgae cover.  相似文献   

18.
We report 15N/14N ratios of porewater nitrate in sediments from the Bering Sea basin, where microbial nitrate reduction has been identified as a significant sink for fixed nitrogen (N). Strong 15N enrichment in porewater nitrate is observed as one goes deeper in the sediments and nitrate concentration decreases (δ15N generally reaches 25-35‰). Analysis of profiles with a one-dimensional diffusion-reaction model yields organism-scale isotope effects for dissimilatory nitrate reduction (εcell) of 11‰ to 30‰, in the same range as measured in previous studies of cultures and the marine and lacustrine water column. Estimates of εcell, while uncertain, show a negative correlation with bottom water [O2]; we propose that this relates to the at the depth of denitrification. The N isotope effect at the scale of nitrate sediment-water exchange (εapp) is ∼0‰ in two unreactive deep sites and is typically <3‰ at more reactive sites at various depths. εapp is much lower than εcell because nitrate consumption is nearly complete at the sediment depth of denitrification, minimizing the escape of 15N-enriched nitrate from the sediments. In reactive sediments, this is due to rapid denitrification, while in less reactive sediments, it is due to greater diffusive distances for nitrate to the depth of denitrification. The data suggest that low bottom water [O2] tends to yield more complete expression of εcell at the sediment-water scale, due to higher at the depth of denitrification. While porewater ammonium-N isotopes were not measured, our porewater model suggests that, in sediments with high organic matter supply and/or low-[O2] bottom waters, the efflux and subsequent oxidation of ammonium enriched in 15N by incomplete nitrification can significantly enhance the total net isotope effect of sedimentary N loss (εsed, equivalent to εapp but including ammonium fluxes). Model analysis of representative sedimentary environments suggests a global mean εsed of ∼4‰ (∼2‰ if restricted to seafloor below 1 km depth).  相似文献   

19.
Biologically available nitrogen (fixed N) is removed from the oceans by metabolic conversion of inorganic N forms (nitrate and ammonium) to N2 gas. Much of this removal occurs in marine sediments, where reaction rates are thought to be limited by diffusion. We measured the concentration and isotopic composition of major dissolved nitrogen species in anoxic sediments off the coast of California. At depths below the diffusive penetration of nitrate, we found evidence of a large nitrate pool transported into the sediments by motile microorganisms. A ∼20‰ enrichment in 15N and 18O of this biologically transported nitrate over bottom water values and elevated [N2] and δ15N-N2 at depth indicate that this nitrate is consumed by enzymatic redox reactions with the production of N2 as the end product. Elevated N2O concentrations in pore waters below the nitrate diffusion depth confirm that these reactions include the denitrification pathway. A data-constrained model shows that at least 31% of the total N2 production in anoxic sediments is linked to nitrate bio-transport. Under suboxic/anoxic regimes, this nitrate bio-transport augments diffusive transport, thus increasing benthic fixed nitrogen losses and the reducing burial efficiency of sedimentary organic matter.  相似文献   

20.
Barite and barium concentrations in bottom sediments and coral skeletons from the vicinity of the hydrocarbon exploration well drilled in 1992–1993 in the Træna Deep, Norwegian Sea have been studied to assess the spreading of the drilling mud and related ecological effects on Lophelia petrusa coral reefs. Sand size barite crystals derived from the drilling mud and elevated Ba concentrations in surface (0–2 cm) sediments were found up to 4 km from the exploration drilling site. 210Pb-dating results on sediment cores indicate that Ba-rich surface intervals (0–2 cm) record ca. 20 years of sedimentation history, and connect Ba enrichment with exploration drilling. The geographic distribution of Ba contents in sediments allowed the reconstruction of the drilling mud dispersal pattern showing transport eastward from the drilling site, consistent with the prevailing current directions. The presence of relatively coarse-grained sediments and barite crystals trapped in coral polyps, ca. 500 m down current from the drilling site, reflects the elevated turbulence and sediment supply during the drilling activity. This elevated sediment dispersion likely placed a stress upon the coral reefs, but due to strong currents that effectively dilute episodic drilling waste and sediment discharges, the damage does not appear significant.  相似文献   

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