Broad-scale effects of hypoxia on benthic community structure in Chesapeake Bay, USA

Seitz, Rochelle D.; Dauer, Daniel M.; Llansó, Roberto J.; Long, W. Christopher

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2009.07.004

Cited by 78 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…While the sample sizes were low in two of the data sets, it is important to understand how biomass and secondary production (a critical ecosystem function) respond. Results of this study generally agreed with other biomass studies (Ritter and Montagna, 1999;Seitz et al, 2009;Sturdivant et al, 2014). A mean biomass in the hypoxic areas of Narragansett Bay that is one-fifth to one-third that of the normoxic areas represents a dramatic reduction in potential food available for higher trophic levels such as fish.…”

Section: Biomass and Secondary Productionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Intense or prolonged hypoxia can drastically reduce abundance of most benthic groups (e.g., Ritter and Montagna, 1999;Seitz et al, 2009;Sturdivant et al, 2014). Species abundance is important for many functional properties including bioturbation and trophic transfer to predators.…”

Section: Species Abundance and Community Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Chesapeake Bay, seasonal hypoxia leads to loss of large, multi-year age structure macrofauna and the associated biomass (Sturdivant et al, 2014). Low biomass at DO levels below about 4.5 mg/L provides poor foraging for blue crabs and demersal fish; above 4.5 mg/L, biomass is up to four times greater (Seitz et al, 2009). In Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, Ritter and Montagna (1999) showed a transition point between normoxic and hypoxic benthic communities (based on diversity, abundance, and biomass of adults) at a DO level of 3.5-4.0 mg/L; a similar level (4.0 mg/L) in the Baltic Sea greatly increases benthic biomass over that of lower DO levels (Carstensen et al, 2014).…”

Section: Biomass and Secondary Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eutrophication and Hypoxia Diminish Ecosystem Functions of Benthic Communities in a New England Estuary

2016

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Excessive input of nitrogen to estuaries and coastal waters leads to eutrophication; the resulting organic matter over-enrichment of sediments and seasonal hypoxia of bottom water have significant deleterious effects on benthic community biodiversity, abundance, and biomass. Our goal was to better understand how these losses carry through to impairment of key ecosystem functions of benthic communities. Recent management efforts to address eutrophication have reduced nitrogen loading to several estuaries of the Virginian Biogeographic Province (northeast United States). How the ecosystems will respond remains to be seen. Using Narragansett Bay as an example estuary within this Province, we compared measures of community structure and function from stations in seasonally hypoxic areas with stations in normoxic areas. We analyzed a benthic data set spanning 20 years and 155 stations, along with ancillary data from other sources. Hypoxic areas had half the species richness, many fewer rare species, lower biomass, and lower secondary production. Benthic communities in the hypoxic areas had a significantly different abundance structure, were at an earlier successional stage, and bioturbated the sediments to a depth about one-fifth that of the normoxic areas. On average, sediments in the hypoxic areas took up more oxygen-used for aerobic metabolism and oxidation of reduced compounds from anaerobic metabolism. Sediments in hypoxic areas released into the overlying water two to three times more ammonium and phosphate. Mean flux of dissolved oxygen into the sediments of hypoxic areas and mean net flux of nitrogen gas (from sediment denitrification) out were slightly higher. Eutrophication-driven over-enrichment of organic matter, along with seasonal hypoxia in the northern part of the Bay have led to degradation of benthic community structure and function, which have serious implications for sustainable provision of ecosystem services. We quantified fifteen stressor-response relationships that can help understand how, following a reduction in nitrogen inputs, a recovery of benthic ecosystem functions in hypoxic areas could proceed.

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Section: Biomass and Secondary Productionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Species Abundance and Community Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Biomass and Secondary Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eutrophication and Hypoxia Diminish Ecosystem Functions of Benthic Communities in a New England Estuary

2016

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“…Oxygen depletion particularly influences the functioning of marine ecosystems (Seitz, Dauer, Llansó, & Long, 2009;Howarth et al, 2011). For instance, chemical species (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Two-year temporal response of benthic macrofauna and sediments to hypoxia in a tropical semi-enclosed bay (Cienfuegos, Cuba)

Díaz-Asencio

Helguera

Fernández-Garcés

et al. 2016

RBT

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Abstract:Hypoxia is the depletion of dissolved oxygen below 2 mg O 2 /L. Relatively few studies on hypoxia and its effects on benthic macrofauna have been done in tropical marine ecosystems. This study describes the temporal response of the water column, sediments and macrofauna to seasonal hypoxia in a semi-enclosed bay (Cienfuegos, Caribbean Sea). The Calisito site was sampled monthly from June 2010 until February 2012, yielding 21 sampling times. At each sampling event water and sediment samples were collected for measuring the abiotic variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, redox potential discontinuity, silt/clay and organic matter content) and macrofauna (abundance and species richness). Temperature and surface salinity followed a typical temporal pattern during the summer/rainy and the winter/dry periods. Salinity stratification occurred in the rainy period, lasting three months in 2010 and six months in 2011. The bottom water dissolved oxygen indicated hypoxic and anoxic events during the wet periods of 2010 and 2011 associated with salinity stratification, low hydrodynamics and oxidation of the accumulated organic matter. Over the study period, 817 individuals were collected and identified. Polychaetes were the dominant group in terms of abundance (57 % of total) followed by mollusks (41%). Hypoxia (and occasionally anoxia) caused strong deleterious effects on the abundance and species richness of macrofaunal communities in the study site. The most abundant polychaetes were opportunistic species with high tolerance to hypoxic conditions: Prionospio steenstrupi, Polydora sp.and Paraprionospio pinnata. Most of them colonized relatively fast once hypoxia ended. Persistent species such as Caecum pulchellum and Parvanachis obesa were present during hypoxia with fluctuating densities and apparently recover to higher abundances when normoxic conditions are re-established. Macoma tenta and Tellina consobrina colonized approximately 1-2 months later than the first polychaete peak during normoxia. Probably, the deleterious effects of hypoxia on the macrofauna were intensified by negative interspecific relationships such as competition by suitable space and predation. The recolonization of macrofauna depended possibly on local transport by currents within the bay because the connection with the Caribbean Sea is relatively limited. In summary, seasonal hypoxia in Cienfuegos Bay influences the water and sediment geochemistry and reduces both the abundance and diversity of macrofauna. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (1): 177-188. Epub 2016 March 01.

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“…One is the phenomenon that occurs in benthic waters in the deepest areas, where the water is likely to be most stagnant owing to the restriction of water exchange with the open sea due to topographic factors, and/or during the warmest seasons when the vertical mixing potential of the water tends to decline markedly due to the development of a pycnocline following a thermocline and/or halocline (e.g., Baltic Sea in North Europe (Wulff et al 1990), the Western Trough of the Lough Hyne Marine Reserve in southwestern Ireland (McAllen et al 2009), Chesapeake Bay in the U.S. (Seitz et al 2009), and Ise Bay . In these areas, oxygen consumption in the stagnant bottom water tends to be accelerated, and the water often becomes hypoxic or anoxic seasonally (or throughout the year), owing to the progress of organic enrichment of the sediment by the frequent blooming of phytoplankton (Rosenberg 1985, Rosenberg et al 1990, Diaz & Rosenberg 1995, Karlson et al 2002.…”

Section: Occurrence Of Hypoxic Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of changes in the benthic environment and decline of macro-benthic communities in the inner part of Ariake Bay in relation to seasonal hypoxia

Tsutsumi

Takamatsu

Nagata

et al. 2015

Plankton Benthos Res

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Abstract:In the inner part of Ariake Bay, located on the west coast of Kyushu, in western Japan, red tides have occurred with more frequency since the second half of the 1990s. Hypoxic waters have occurred during the summer months since the 2000s, despite the fact that nutrient loading from the land to the bay has not increased over the last five decades. We monitored water conditions at nine stations in the inner part of the bay, conducted benthic environmental surveys, and quantitative samplings of macro-benthic communities at the innermost four stations between 2002 and 2008. Each summer, the water was well-stratified due to the development of a halocline and a thermocline. The DO of the water below the pycnocline fell to hypoxic conditions. At the innermost three stations in the bay, the mud content and organic matter content of the sediment increased significantly, and the carbon stable isotope ratios of the organic matter contained in the sediment ranged between −21.3±0.5 and −20.7±0.5 of δ 13 C. These facts indicated that the organic matter was derived photosynthetically from marine phytoplankton. The increase in the mud content of the sediment indicates a deceleration in the tidal current. This may be a key event that induces a series of environmental changes and disturbances, including the stratification of the water, the more frequent occurrence of red tides, the progress of the organic enrichment of the sediment, and the occurrence of hypoxic water during the summer.

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Broad-scale effects of hypoxia on benthic community structure in Chesapeake Bay, USA

Cited by 78 publications

References 51 publications

Eutrophication and Hypoxia Diminish Ecosystem Functions of Benthic Communities in a New England Estuary

Eutrophication and Hypoxia Diminish Ecosystem Functions of Benthic Communities in a New England Estuary

Two-year temporal response of benthic macrofauna and sediments to hypoxia in a tropical semi-enclosed bay (Cienfuegos, Cuba)

Implications of changes in the benthic environment and decline of macro-benthic communities in the inner part of Ariake Bay in relation to seasonal hypoxia

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