Recolonization of macrozoobenthos on defaunated sediments in a hypertrophic brackish lagoon: effects of sulfide removal and sediment grain size.
Influences of sediment types on recolonization of estuarine macrozoobenthos were tested using enclosures in a hypertrophic lagoon. Three types of azoic sediment, sand (S), sulfide-rich mud (M), and mud removed of sulfide through iron addition (MFe), were set in field for 35 days during a hypoxic period. A total of 14 taxa including opportunistic polychaetes and amphipods occurred. Infaunal community in S treatment was characterized by highest diversity, total density and biomass, and population density of five dominant taxa, while those parameters were lowest in M treatment. Sulfide removal in MFe treatment achieved much higher density, biomass, and population densities of several taxa in the sediment. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the established community structure was unique to each treatment. These imply that dissolved sulfide level as well as sediment grain size is a key determinant for the community composition and recolonization speed of early colonists in estuarine soft-bottom habitats.
Biological Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aramaki-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan; National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan. Electronic address: gen@nies.go.jp.
Gen
G
Kanaya
D033304:Amphipoda / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000502:physiology; D011156:Population Density; D013440:Sulfides / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
D013440:Sulfides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Amphipod; Community composition; Estuaries; Macrozoobenthos; Polychaete; Recolonization; Sediments; Sulphide