Effect of Nereis diversicolor density on the erodability of estuarine sediment

Widdows, J.; Brinsley,; Pope, ND

doi:10.3354/meps07864

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, herbivory and bioturbation by the polychaeate Nereis diversicolor reduces the abundance of marsh plants leading to increased erosion in marshes (Paramor & Hughes 2004). The presence of the diatom-grazing amphipod Corophium volutator significantly decreases sediment shear strength (Gerdol & Hughes 1994) and increases erosion rates (Widdows et al 2009) in marsh sediment.On the Pacific coast of North America, over 93% of salt marshes have been lost as a result of human activities (Bromberg Gedan & Silliman 2009). The introduction of the non-native burrowing isopod (Sphaeroma quoianum) on the Pacific coast adds yet another stressor to the remaining saltmarshes.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Accelerated erosion of saltmarshes infested by the non-native burrowing crustacean Sphaeroma quoianum

Davidson¹,

Rivera²

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Lateral erosion of saltmarshes is affected by many abiotic and biotic factors. While abiotic factors are typically regarded as primary drivers of erosion, biotic influences such as burrowing or bioturbating taxa can also extensively modify the physical structure of this marine habitat. Many estuaries on the Pacific coast of North America have been invaded by populations of the burrowing non-native isopod Sphaeroma quoianum, which are thought to exacerbate the erosion of saltmarshes. We conducted a mensurative experiment to examine the relationship between populations of S. quoianum and lateral erosion rate of saltmarshes in Coos Bay, Oregon, USA. After 1 yr, we measured higher lateral erosion rates, more undercutting, and higher numbers of calved and slumped marsh sections in marsh sites infested by S. quoianum than in uninfested sites. This effect was also consistent at smaller spatial scales: we found lateral erosion was 300% higher in burrowed areas than in adjacent (within approx. 1 m) unburrowed areas within infested sites. Our results suggest that the prodigious burrowing by dense populations of S. quoianum can accelerate erosion rates in saltmarshes and are substantial geomorphic agents of change in estuaries on the Pacific coast of North America. KEY WORDS: Erosion · Ecosystem engineering · Biogeomorphology · Bioturbation · Biological invasions · Saltmarshes · Sphaeroma quoianum Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 419: [129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136] 2010 consumers, or biostabilizers (Belanger & Bedard 1994, Butler 1995, Widdows et al. 2000, Paramor & Hughes 2004, Jefferies et al. 2006, Escapa et al. 2007.Burrowers/bioturbators and consumers both can greatly increase the rate of erosion of marshes. Fauna directly reduce the stability of the sediment and accelerate erosion through trampling, burrowing, bioturbation, or other forms of physical disturbance (Dionne 1985, Talley et al. 2001, Escapa et al. 2007). Burrowing by the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus decreases sediment shear strength and increases the erosion rate of saltmarshes in Argentina (Escapa et al. 2007). Dionne (1985) observed extensive marsh erosion from trampling and foraging by geese in Quebec. Furthermore, bioturbation by increasing densities of Manila clams resulted in an exponential increase of sediment erosion in flume experiments (Sgro et al. 2005). Herbivores indirectly accelerate erosion by reducing the abundances of sediment biostabilizers. For example, herbivory and bioturbation by the polychaeate Nereis diversicolor reduces the abundance of marsh plants leading to increased erosion in marshes (Paramor & Hughes 2004). The presence of the diatom-grazing amphipod Corophium volutator significantly decreases sediment shear strength (Gerdol & Hughes 1994) and increases erosion rates (Widdows et al. 2009) in marsh sediment.On the Pacific coast of North America, over 93% of salt marshes have been lost as a result of human activities (Bromberg Gedan & Silli...

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Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerated erosion of saltmarshes infested by the non-native burrowing crustacean Sphaeroma quoianum

Davidson¹,

Rivera²

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Some bivalves, snails, polychaete worms and ghost shrimp decrease the critical shear stress of the sediment and increase sediment resuspension through increased sediment surface roughness and loosened sediment, and the mass of resuspended sediment is significantly correlated with the densities of these animals (Widdows et al, 2000(Widdows et al, , 2009Sgro et al, 2005;Orvain et al, 2006;Amaro et al, 2007). However, the bivalve Mytilus edulis caused the highest sediment resuspension at a density of 25% of the sediment surface covered by the bivalve, and sediment resuspension decreased at bivalve densities above this level .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of tubificid worms (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri) in sediment resuspension: a microcosm study

Zhang

Shang

et al. 2014

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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-Sediment resuspension is an important internal lake process in regulating nutrient cycling and ecosystem structure. Tubificid worms are widely and abundantly distributed in freshwater ecosystems and are able to alter the sediment characteristics. This study was conducted to verify the hypothesis that the alteration of sediments by tubificids may substantially influence the sediment resuspension process. Specifically, we investigated the influence of Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (Tubificidae) on sediment resuspension using an apparatus designed to simulate the sediment resuspension process in Lake Taihu (China). We examined L. hoffmeisteri according to its density (30 000 ind.m x2 ) in Lake Taihu and simulated the light ) wind processes present in Lake Taihu. Tubificids loosened the sediment through their feeding and defecation activities and increased the sediment water content. The appearance of tubificids increased the suspended solids (SS) in a 1.6 m water column under all three wind processes. During the sedimentation process, SS decreased rapidly in both the control and tubificid treatments. The total SS in the water column was significantly increased by tubificids and it changed significantly with time. In addition, the small size particles of the SS in the tubificid treatment were higher than that in the control. So, the appearance of tubificid worms (L. hoffmeisteri) enhanced sediment resuspension and raised the proportion of small size particles in SS.

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“…Some studies consider this species a stabilizer, as judged from its influence on the shear strength properties and an apparent increased erosion threshold of the sediment as a function of abundance (Meadows and Tait, 1989;Meadows et al, 1990;Fernandes et al, 2006). Other studies refer to the destabilizing effect of N. diversicolor from its influence on the colonization of benthic diatoms and surface topography by a high level of surface activity while searching for food (Underwood and Paterson, 1993;Widdows et al, 2009). However, the slight destabilizing effect of N. diversicolor in our experiment suggests that this species may have counteracting destabilizing and stabilizing behaviours.…”

Section: à2mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also sediment reworking by larger burrowing and deposit-feeding macrofauna (e.g. the polychaete Nereis diversicolor and the bivalve Scrobicularia plana) may change shear strength by altering sediment properties and destabilizing sediments beyond the surface layer (Botto and Iribarne, 2000;Widdows et al, 2009). Benthic animals may to a lesser extent also stabilize the sediment e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of benthic macroinvertebrates on the erodability of estuarine cohesive sediments: Density- and biomass-specific responses

Kristensen

Neto

Lundkvist

et al. 2013

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Regional index term: Portugal Mondego EstuaryKeywords: erosion threshold erosion rate behaviour macrofauna feeding microphytobenthos biostabilization a b s t r a c tThe impact of three dominating benthic invertebrates on sediment stability and erosion conditions of cohesive sediments in the Mondego Estuary, Portugal, was examined in laboratory annular flume experiments. The purpose was to test how the life habits and body size of the three involved species (Hydrobia ulvae, Nereis diversicolor and Scrobicularia plana) in terms of density or biomass influence sediment erosion. All three species decreased the free-stream erosion threshold (u c ) and increased erosion rate (E), since their feeding activities diminished the surface stabilizing effect of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by microphytobenthos. S. plana had the highest and H. ulvae the lowest impact when related to density (factor of 29 for u c and factor of 19 for E), while H. ulvae was more important than S. plana when related to biomass (factor of 4 for u c and factor of 6 for E). N. diversicolor had intermediate density-specific (4e6 times higher than H. ulvae) and lowest biomass-specific (2e3 times lower than S. plana) effects on erosion. It appears that faunal erosion impacts preferably should be reported in biomass units for comparative purposes because individual behavioural effects of a smallbodied species like H. ulvae functionally can be relatively more important than those of a 100 times heavier S. plana individual. This is clearly evidenced from the strongly diminished response in suspended Chlorophyll-a content in the presence of the former than the latter species, which is caused by an efficient microphytobenthos grazing by H. ulvae. It is also important to emphasize that the total faunal impact on erosion threshold in a certain area is dictated by combination of contributions from individual species. The total outcome is unpredictable and controlled by synergistic and antagonistic speciesspecific effects, species interactions as well as environmental and sediment conditions.

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Effect of Nereis diversicolor density on the erodability of estuarine sediment

Cited by 29 publications

References 39 publications

Accelerated erosion of saltmarshes infested by the non-native burrowing crustacean Sphaeroma quoianum

Accelerated erosion of saltmarshes infested by the non-native burrowing crustacean Sphaeroma quoianum

The role of tubificid worms (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri) in sediment resuspension: a microcosm study

Influence of benthic macroinvertebrates on the erodability of estuarine cohesive sediments: Density- and biomass-specific responses

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