Bioturbation: a fresh look at Darwin's last idea

Meysman, Filip J. R.; Middelburg, Jack J.; Heip, C.H.R.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.08.002

Cited by 708 publications

(524 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…land use, agricultural practices), climate, and other biotic factors (Edwards, 2004;Edwards and Bohlen, 1996). Earthworms modify soils mainly through bioturbation (Meysman et al, 2006) thus participating actively to soil pedogenesis. Their activity affects water infiltration (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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a b s t r a c tLittle is known about the diversity and ecology of earthworms in floodplains, as well as their response to natural and anthropic perturbations (e.g. floods, river channelisation, floodplain restoration). We characterised the patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in the different habitats of a lowland restored floodplain in Switzerland. In addition to classical species-based metrics, such as species richness and Shannon diversity, species traits were used to calculate the community weighted means (CWMs) of traits and functional dispersion (FDis). We hypothesised that trait-based metrics would reveal clearer patterns than classical approaches. The distribution of earthworm traits varied among habitats in relation to changes in flooding frequency: poorly developed gravel bar soils most exposed to flooding were characterised by high abundance of small epigeic species and low abundance of large anecic species. Differences in anecic and endogeic earthworm community structure matched flood frequency. In agreement with our hypothesis, CWMs were more strongly correlated to environmental variables than species composition, diversity, or functional diversity. Based on these results, the ratio of the relative abundances of epigeic and anecic species, and the differences in species composition within anecic and endogeic ecological types of earthworms were identified as indicators of soil development in floodplains.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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“…The concentration of AVS has a major influence on metal bioavailability, and for sediments containing a molar excess of acid volatile sulfide (AVS) over simultaneously extractable metals (SEM, ΣCd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn), it is predicted that the porewater concentrations of these metals will be negligible and should not cause direct toxicity to benthic organisms Hansen et al, 2005;Lawrence et al, 1982). In addition, the activity of microbes such as Desulfuromonadales and Geobacter sulfurreducens in abandoned burrows also contributes to the release of metals from anoxic sediments to the pore waters and overlying water column (Kristensen, 2008;Meysman et al, 2006). Thus bioturbation processes can modify the exposure and risk posed by contaminants to the organisms and surrounding ecosystem (Atkinson et al, 2007;Ciutat and Boudou, 2003; Simpson et al, 2002).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Differences in the amount of fine particles in the three sediments contributed to these observations (Table 1), with the mean TSS concentration for the silty-S2 High bioturbation treatment (76% <63 µm particles) being more than twice those measured for the more sandy S1 and S3 sediments (both ~30% <63 µm). The changes in metal bioavailability as a consequence of the differing amounts of fine sediment re-suspension and dispersal due to bioturbation were therefore influenced by both sediment properties (abiotic processes) and organism behaviour (biotic processes) (Meysman et al, 2006;O'Shea et al, 2012). …”

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confidence: 99%

The impact of sediment bioturbation by secondary organisms on metal bioavailability, bioaccumulation and toxicity to target organisms in benthic bioassays: Implications for sediment quality assessment

Remaili

Simpson

Amato

et al. 2016

Environmental Pollution

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. (2015). The impact of sediment bioturbation by secondary organisms on metal bioavailability, bioaccumulation and toxicity to target organisms in benthic bioassays: implications for sediment quality assessment. Environmental Pollution, 208 (Part B), 590-599. See next page for additional authorsThe impact of sediment bioturbation by secondary organisms on metal bioavailability, bioaccumulation and toxicity to target organisms in benthic bioassays: implications for sediment quality assessment AbstractBioturbation alters the properties of sediments and modifies contaminant bioavailability to benthic organisms. These naturally occurring disturbances are seldom considered during the assessment of sediment quality. We investigated how the presence (High bioturbation) and absence (Low bioturbation) of a strongly bioturbating amphipod within three different sediments influenced metal bioavailability, survival and bioaccumulation of metals to the bivalve Tellina deltoidalis. The concentrations of dissolved copper decreased and manganese increased with increased bioturbation. For copper a strong correlation was observed between increased bivalve survival (53-100%) and dissolved concentrations in the overlying water. Increased bioturbation intensity resulted in greater tissue concentrations for chromium and zinc in some test sediments. Overall, the results highlight the strong influence that the natural bioturbation activities from one organism may have on the risk contaminants pose to other organisms within the local environment. The characterisation of field-based exposure conditions concerning the biotic or abiotic resuspension of sediments and the rate of attenuation of released contaminants through dilution or readsorption may enable laboratorybased bioassay designs to be adapted to better match those of the assessed environment.  Strong correlations between bioaccumulated and dissolved Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Cu and Ni. Weak correlations between bioaccumulated and particulate metals. 2 Capsule AbstractThis study investigated the impact of sediment bioturbation intensity on metal bioavailability and toxicity to aquatic organisms, and the implications of this to toxicity test design. Abstract:Bioturbation alters the properties of sediments and modifies contaminant bioavailability to benthic organisms. These naturally occurring disturbances are seldom considered during the assessment of sediment quality. We investigated how the presence (High bioturbation) and absence (Low bioturbation) of a strongly bioturbating amphipod within three different sediments influenced metal bioavailability, survival and bioaccumulation of metals to the bivalve Tellina deltoidalis. The concentrations of dissolved copper decreased and manganese increased with increased bioturbation. For copper a strong correlation was observed between increased bivalve survival (53 to 100%) and dissolved concentrations in the overlying water. Increased bioturbation intensity resulted in greater tissue concentrations for chromium and zinc in some test sediments. O...

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“…Some of these influences on development may stretch back a long way in time. The presence of animal burrows, moundsand dams-or, on a larger scale, changed atmospheric states, soil states, substrate states, or sea acidity (Meysman et al, 2006;Erwin, 2008)-persist or accumulate in environments, and can be crucial for normal development.…”

Section: Epigeneticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why are individuals so different from each other?

Bateson

2014

Heredity

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An important contributor to the differences between individuals derives from their plasticity. Such plasticity is widespread in organisms from the simple to the most complex. Adaptability plasticity enables the organism to cope with a novel challenge not previously encountered by its ancestors. Conditional plasticity appears to have evolved from repeated challenges from the environment so that the organism responds in a particular manner to the environment in which it finds itself. The resulting phenotypic variation can be triggered during development in a variety of ways, some mediated through the parent's phenotype. Sometimes the organism copes in suboptimal conditions trading off reproductive success against survival. Whatever the adaptedness of the phenotype, each of the many types of plasticity demonstrates how a given genotype will express itself differently in different environmental conditions-a field of biology referred to as the study of epigenetics. The ways in which epigenetic mechanisms may have evolved are discussed, as are the potential impacts on the evolution of their descendants.

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Bioturbation: a fresh look at Darwin's last idea

Cited by 708 publications

References 63 publications

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

The impact of sediment bioturbation by secondary organisms on metal bioavailability, bioaccumulation and toxicity to target organisms in benthic bioassays: Implications for sediment quality assessment

Why are individuals so different from each other?

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