Benthic nutrient fluxes at longline sea squirt and oyster aquaculture farms and their role in coastal ecosystems

Abstract

To assess the impact of aquaculture activities, we measured the primary production, total sediment oxygen consumption, and benthic nutrient flux at two aquaculture farms (sea squirt and oyster) and one reference site. The estimated primary production in the water column ranged from 19–169 mmol C m−2 d−1. Total sediment oxygen consumption rates ranged from 58 to 328 mmol m−2 d−1, 1.1 to 40 mmol m−2 d−1 for nitrogen, 0.17 to 3.0 mmol m−2 d−1 for phosphate, and 7.3 to 74 mmol m−2 d−1 for silicate. The average total sediment oxygen consumption at the longline farms was >2.5 times higher than the reference site. Nitrate was significantly removed by denitrification at the longline farms in July and September and ranged from −5.4 to −0.09 mmol m−2 d−1, which is higher than for other coastal sediments. The benthic fluxes of nitrogen and phosphate at longline farms were up to 16 and six times higher than at the reference site, respectively. The average nitrogen requirements of the primary producers were 9.3 mmol m−2 d−1 at the sea squirt farm, 7.0 mmol m−2 d−1 at the oyster farm, and 13.5 mmol m−2 d−1 at the reference site, corresponding to 88, 316, and 27.2% of the nitrogen supplied by benthic fluxes, respectively. Our results suggest that benthic nutrient fluxes at longline farms are a major nutrient source for primary production in coastal waters.