Influence of New Zealand cockles ( Austrovenus stutchburyi ) on primary productivity in sandflat-seagrass ( Zostera muelleri ) ecotones

Lohrer, Andrew M.; Townsend, Michael; Hailes, Sarah F.; Rodil, Iván F.; Cartner, Katie; Pratt, Daniel R.; Hewitt, Judi E.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2016.08.045

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Sediment-water column fluxes of inorganic nutrients and oxygen were measured using paired light and dark benthic chambers (Figure 1). The methodology used has been described in previous studies (Lohrer et al, 2016). Briefly, a total of five light and dark sets of benthic chambers were deployed at each site within seagrass and adjacent bare sediment habitats.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Samples were sieved through a 500 µm mesh and macrofaunal were preserved in 70% isopropyl alcohol for processing in the laboratory. Cockles (Austrovenus stutchburyi) and wedge shells (Macomona liliana) are known to strongly influence sedimentwater column fluxes of inorganic nutrients (Pratt et al, 2015;Lohrer et al, 2016) and were the species of interest within macrofaunal cores. Above and below-ground seagrass biomass was extracted from cores and dried in a 60 • C oven for 4 days, or until weights stabilized.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The organic material is either exported from the system as detritus, buried in the sediment column, or remineralised (Hemminga et al, 1991). Many types of softsediment macrofauna bioturbate and irrigate the upper layers of the sediment column, thereby oxygenating sediment, consuming organic matter and excreting inorganic nutrients, which can fuel seagrass and MPB growth and production (Lohrer et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Photosynthetic biomass and primary production are generally significantly higher in seagrass meadows than bare sediments [approximately 2-4 times higher (Pratt et al, 2015;Gustafsson and Norkko, 2016;Lohrer et al, 2016)]. As nutrient uptake rates are related to rates of primary production in bare sediments (Thornton et al, 1999;Dalsgaard, 2003;Longphuirt et al, 2009;Rodil et al, 2011), and primary production is higher in seagrass meadows (Lohrer et al, 2016), it follows that seagrass meadows will have a greater capacity to remove inorganic nutrients than bare unvegetated sediments. In addition, because nutrient uptake rates are generally related to primary production rates, stressors that affect seagrass primary production, such as increased turbidity, may therefore affect the nutrient removal capacity of seagrass.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within sites, in habitats with and without seagrass that were <5 m apart, the influence of spatial variation in these parameters was reduced, and our ability to make inferences about turbidity's effects on seagrass nutrient removal capacity was enhanced. As an illustration, the abundance of large bioturbating macrofauna such as bivalves is generally positively related to NH 4 + efflux in intertidal systems (Lohrer et al, 2016). If bivalve abundance does not differ between seagrass meadows and adjacent bare sediment at an individual site, we may infer that bivalves are not responsible for the difference in nutrient flux at that site, even though the abundance of bivalves may vary significantly among sites, potentially confounding direct comparisons of nutrient efflux in seagrass beds across sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elevated Turbidity and the Nutrient Removal Capacity of Seagrass

et al. 2018

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Seagrass meadows provide a range of important ecosystem functions that can be influenced by anthropogenic pressures. Sediment loading from coastal land use mismanagement can elevate turbidity and reduce seabed light levels, thereby impacting seagrass primary productivity and meadow health. Less understood is the impact of elevated turbidity on the nutrient removal capacity of seagrass, which is a key ecosystem function. Here, we use in situ benthic chambers to show that elevated turbidity is associated with lower nutrient (NH 4 + ) removal within intertidal seagrass meadows. Our results suggest that reductions in sediment loading to improve water clarity may increase the nutrient removal capacity of intertidal seagrass meadows influenced by light limitation. When quantifying important ecosystem functions such as nutrient removal by seagrass it is important to consider this context dependency.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elevated Turbidity and the Nutrient Removal Capacity of Seagrass

et al. 2018

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Changing intra‐ and interspecific interactions across sedimentary and environmental stress gradients

et al. 2023

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Intensifying land use and accelerated erosion has resulted in increased delivery and deposition of fine terrestrially derived sediment to coastal ecosystems, increasing sediment mud content in estuarine ecosystems. This change in the sedimentary environment is known to have negative consequences for ecosystem functioning. Yet indirect and cyclical relationships between species and the environment are rarely investigated, despite being crucial for understanding ecosystem resilience. We investigate changes in intra‐ and inter‐specific interactions between two key intertidal species (Austrovenus stutchburyi and Macomona liliana) with different but overlapping environmental preferences. We use a large dataset spanning 29 estuaries and 0%–87% mud content to predict the effects of increases in mud. We observed important changes in feedback loops between Austrovenus recent recruits, older individuals, and sediment shell content, and between Macomona and chlorophyll with increasing stress (mud). These loops show different characteristics in the high and low mud content ecosystems and are not apparent in moderate mud. Increases in the number of paths and weaker/more variable relationships between low and moderate mud also occurred. Thus, our moderate (12%–25%) mud content model may be encompassing a transition point in ecosystem dynamics where interaction networks break down and shift to an alternate state.

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Positive contribution of macrofaunal biodiversity to secondary production and seagrass carbon metabolism

Rodil

Lohrer

Attard

et al. 2022

Ecology

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Coastal vegetated habitats such as seagrasses are known to play a critical role in carbon cycling and the potential to mitigate climate change, as blue carbon habitats have been repeatedly highlighted. However, little information is known about the role of associated macrofauna communities on the dynamics of critical processes of seagrass carbon metabolism (e.g., respiration, turnover, and production). We conducted a field study across a spatial gradient of seagrass meadows involving variable environmental conditions and macrobenthic diversity to investigate (1) the relationship between macrofauna biodiversity and secondary production (i.e., consumer incorporation of organic matter per time unit), and (2) the role of macrofauna communities in seagrass organic carbon metabolism (i.e., respiration and primary production). We show that, although several environmental factors influence secondary production, macrofauna biodiversity controls the range of local seagrass secondary production. We demonstrate that macrofauna respiration rates were responsible for almost 40% of the overall seafloor community respiration. Macrofauna represented on average >25% of the total benthic organic C stocks, high secondary production that is likely to become available to upper trophic levels of the coastal food web. Our findings support the role of macrofauna biodiversity in maintaining productive ecosystems, implying that biodiversity loss due to ongoing environmental change yields less productive seagrass ecosystems. Therefore, the assessment of carbon dynamics in coastal habitats should include associated macrofauna biodiversity elements if we aim to obtain robust estimates of global carbon budgets required to implement management actions for the sustainable functioning of the world's coasts.

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Influence of New Zealand cockles ( Austrovenus stutchburyi ) on primary productivity in sandflat-seagrass ( Zostera muelleri ) ecotones

Cited by 26 publications

References 70 publications

Elevated Turbidity and the Nutrient Removal Capacity of Seagrass

Elevated Turbidity and the Nutrient Removal Capacity of Seagrass

Changing intra‐ and interspecific interactions across sedimentary and environmental stress gradients

Positive contribution of macrofaunal biodiversity to secondary production and seagrass carbon metabolism

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