Nitrate metabolism in sediments from seagrass (Zostera capricorni) beds of Moreton Bay, Australia

Abstract

The fate of nitrate in sediments from seagrass (Zostera capricorni Aschers.) beds of Moreton Bay on the subtropical eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, was investigated. Added nitrate was metabolised at rates of 0.4 to 3.4 μg N cm-3 d-1 when sediments were incubated under anaerobic conditions with a large excess of nitrate. The potential rate of nitrate utilization was as rapid in sediments from subtidal bare areas as from adjacent seagrass beds. Ammonium was produced rapidly from15N-nitrate by microbial action in all the subtidal sediments examined. After 12 h of incubation, 13 to 28% of the15N initially added as labelled nitrate was detected as labelled ammonium in the sediments. Denitrification, although not measured directly, appeared to be a relatively minor fate of nitrate. Benthic microbes took up large amounts of15N but only after a delay of 6 h; this pattern could have been due to induction and synthesis of the enzymes necessary for nitrate uptake, and the assimilation of labelled ammonium. Under field conditions, assimilation by seagrasses and denitrification by bacteria were probably not significant sinks for nitrate in comparison with uptake by benthic microbes and dissimilatory reduction to ammonium.