No abstract

This study aims to compare the impact of oyster cultures on diagenetic processes and the phosphorus cycle in the sediments of the Aber Benoît and the Rivière d'Auray, estuary of Brittany, France. Our results showed clear evidence of the seasonal impact of oyster cultures on sediment characteristics (grain size and organic matter parameters) and the phosphorus cycle, especially in the Aber Benoît. At this site, seasonal variations in sulfide and Fe concentrations in pore waters, as well as Fe-P concentrations in the solid phase, highlighted a shift from a system governed by iron reduction (Reference) to a system governed by sulfate reduction (beneath oyster). This could be partly explained by the increase in labile organic matter (i.e., biodeposits) beneath oysters, whose mineralization by sulfate led to high sulfide concentrations in pore waters (up to 4,475 lmol l -1 ). In turn, sulfide caused an enhanced release of phosphate in the summer, as adsorption sites for phosphate decreased through the formation of iron-sulfide compounds (FeS and FeS 2 ). In the Aber Benoît, dissolved Fe/PO 4 ratios could be used as an indicator of phosphate release into oxic water. Low Fe/PO 4 ratios in the summer indicated higher effluxes of phosphate toward the water column (up to 47 lmol m -2 h -1 ). At other periods, Fe/PO 4 ratios higher than 2 mol/mol indicated very low phosphate fluxes. In contrast, in the Rivière d'Auray, the occurrence of macroalgae, stranding regularly all over the site, clearly masked the impact of oyster cultures on sediment properties and the phosphorus cycle and made the use of Fe/PO 4 ratios more difficult in terms of indicators of phosphate release.

Bacterial community structure and some biogeochemical parameters were studied in the sediment of two Pacific oyster farming sites, Aber Benoît (AB) and Rivière d'Auray (RA) in Brittany (France), to examine the ecological impact of oysters and to evaluate the emission of sulfide and ammonia from sediment. At AB, the organic matter accumulated in the sediment beneath the oyster tables was rapidly mineralized, with strong fluxes of ammonia and sulfide that reached 1014 and 215 lmol m À2 h À1, respectively, in June 2007. At RA, the fluxes were about half as strong on average and better distributed through the year. The ammonia and sulfide concentrations in the overlying water never reached levels that would be toxic to oysters in either site, nor did hypoxia occur. Total culturable bacteria (TCB) varied greatly according to the temperature: from 1.6 9 10 4 to 9.4 9 10 7 cell g À1 sediment. Inversely, the bacterial community structure remained surprising stable through the seasons, marginally influenced by the presence of oysters and by temperature. Bacterial communities appeared to be characteristic of the sites, with only one common phylotype, Vibrio aestuarianus, a potential oyster pathogen. These data refine the hypothesis of seawater toxicity to oysters because of ammonia and sulfide fluxes and show that the measured environmental factors had only a weak influence on bacterial community structure.