Sedimentological features of Sabellaria spinulosa biocontructions |
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| Institution: | 1. Ghent University (UGent), Marine Biology Research Group, Krijgslaan, 281, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium;2. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Operational Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Gulledelle 100, 1200 Brussels, Belgium;3. Laboratoire International Associé BeBEST (Benthic Biodiversity, Ecology, Sciences et Tecnologies), Rue Dumont d''Urville, 29280 Plouzané, France;4. Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands;1. Cedar Lodge, Maenygroes, Ceinewydd, Ceredigion SA45 9RL, United Kingdom;2. Petroleum Geoscience Programme, Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago;3. Smithsonian Institution, Mathematics and Statistics, MRC-121, P O Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA;1. IFREMER, Department of Oceanography and Ecosystem Dynamics, Laboratory of Benthic Ecology, Technopole Brest Iroise CS10070, 29280 Plouzane, France;2. Department of Earth and Sea Sciences, University of Palermo, via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Sedentary polychaete Sabellaria spinulosa (Leukhart, 1849) is a suspension feeder that builds tubes by cementing together terrigenous particles. Under a set of environmental conditions, S. spinulosa can form reefs (consisting of hundreds or thousands of worm tubes) that can vary greatly in thickness, size and patchiness. The more-developed reefs form in areas with a large and continuous supply of sand, turbulent water, nutrient availability and rocky seafloor. Recently, for the first time in the Mediterranean area, a large reef of S. spinulosa has been discovered along the northern Gargano coast at Torre Mileto (Adriatic Sea, southern Italy). In this paper, we will detail the main sedimentological data of this worm reef. In order to evaluate the kind of terrigenous particles involved in the worm tube constructions, detailed grain-size and petrographic analyses were carried out on both reef and soft-sediment substrate samples. It is demonstrated that S. spinulosa selects sands on the basis of their grain size and shape, and not their composition. It is also shown that some seasonal variations of these parameters are the result of the interplay between reef growth and degradation periods mainly related to physical processes. In particular, the degradation stages seem to be induced mainly by storm wave action, while the reef growth is the result of the complex interaction between ecological and physical processes. |
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| Keywords: | Temperate reefs Worm tubes Southern adriatic sea |
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