Wednesday, All Day in Poster Hall
, Thursday, All Day in Poster Hall
(subject to change)
Nutrient enrichment is widely recognized as a pervasive threat to shallow, aquatic ecosystems, as subsequent accumulation of algae and detritus at the sediment-water interface radically alters trophic structure and biogeochemical cycling. Benthic invertebrates induce physical disturbance within sediments and consume microalgae and organic matter, thereby exerting important controls over benthic primary production and regeneration and release of nutrients. The rate and magnitude of nutrient fluxes influences the abundance and composition of primary producers such as micro- and macroalgae, and is dependent upon the species and functional groups present within the benthic invertebrate community. This study examines the role of invertebrate functional diversity with regard to sediment nutrient release and the dynamics of algal growth, with implications for overall ecosystem processes. A series of microcosms comprised of common invertebrates representing major functional groups, both individually and in diverse assemblages, were incubated with and without macroalgae. We measured changes in productivity and biomass of benthic micro- and macroalgae, diversity of microalgae, macroalgal tissue nitrogen content, sediment nutrient fluxes, and sediment nitrogen fixation. These experiments demonstrate the important links between benthic community structure, biogeochemical processes, and algal growth in estuaries subject to eutrophication.
