Influence of benthic invertebrates on phosphorus flux at the sediment-water interface in the easternmost Baltic Sea

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 608:33-43 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12824 Influence of benthic invertebrates on phosphorus flux at the sediment-water interface in the easternmost Baltic Sea Nadezhda A. Berezina1,*, Alexey A. Maximov1, Oksana M. Vladimirova2 1Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia 2Russian State Hydrometeorological University, 195196 St. Petersburg, Russia *Corresponding author: nadezhda.berezina@zin.ru ABSTRACT: Since the late 2000s, 2 sediment-dwelling invertebrates, the polychaete Marenzelleria arctia and the oligochaete Tubificoides pseudogaster, have established populations in the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea). This article focuses on the effects of these and other benthic species on sediment-water phosphate flux in the easternmost part of the gulf. We estimated total phosphate (soluble reactive form, P-PO43-) fluxes (Pflux), the benthic biomass in intact sediment cores and the phosphate excretion (Pexc) by abundant benthic animals at 4 sites ranging in depth from 20–50 m in the gulf during the Catamaran ‘Centaurus-II’ cruise in August 2015. We found significant positive correlations between Pexc and benthic biomass (especially M. arctia and Monoporeia affinis) and negative correlations between Pflux and benthic variables (biomass and abundance). Pflux in intact sediment-water cores containing various benthic animals ranged from -2890 to +1180 µmol m-2 d-1. Mass-specific Pexc in M. arctia was at least 4 times higher than in other species (Limecola balthica, Saduria entomon, M. affinis and T. pseudogaster). Total benthic excretion rates varied from 320 to 3460 µmol m-2 d-1; 79–98% of which was released by M. arctia. This work reveals a direct effect of benthic animals (via excretion) on phosphate dynamics at the sediment-water interface in the marine environment. KEY WORDS: Benthic-pelagic coupling · Benthic fluxes · Bioturbation · Excretion · Phosphorus cycling · Invasive species · Functional group · Gulf of Finland Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Berezina NA, Maximov AA, Vladimirova OM (2019) Influence of benthic invertebrates on phosphorus flux at the sediment-water interface in the easternmost Baltic Sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 608:33-43. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12824 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 608. Online publication date: January 03, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.