Disturbance of intertidal sediments: the response of bacteria and foraminifera

Abstract

Incubation experiments are common in marine experimental studies but the impact on organisms and geochemical parameters is poorly understood. Here, the re-establishment of vertical bacterial and foraminiferal zonation in intertidal sediments was studied after sieving and subsequent incubation of sediment. Living (Rose Bengal stained) foraminifera were counted and redox sensitive elements in the pore water were measured using a voltammetric microelectrode. Bacterial abundances were quantified using phospholipid derived fatty acid (PLFA) methyl esters in the range of C12–C22 released from intact phospholipids. Foraminifera appeared to be predominantly dependent on the presence of oxygen; they re-migrated to the top oxygenated 3 mm of the sediment within 21 days. Total bacterial abundance did not re-establish to original levels even after 49 days. Total fatty acid concentration increased to a depth of at least 70 mm in the field, but decreased with depth in the sieved sediments of the microcosms. This difference is attributed to macrobenthic activity and physical mixing in the field, causing an increased downward flux of electron acceptors (O 2, NO 3−, Mn(IV), Fe(III)) which is essential for dissimilatory processes at some centimetres depth. In the experimental microcosms, where macrobenthos was removed by sieving, foraminifera alone were not capable of this sediment mixing. The relative amounts of the individual PLFAs were constant with depth, which indicates that no differentiation with depth of the bacterial population by means of bacterial PLFAs could be established both in the field and in the experimental situation. The artificial disturbance led to a long-term change in the vertical bacterial distribution, which was not re-established during the incubation time of 49 days.