Oxygen dynamics and porewater transport in sediments inhabited by the invasive polychaete Marenzelleria viridis

Abstract

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 504:181-192 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10737 Oxygen dynamics and porewater transport in sediments inhabited by the invasive polychaete Marenzelleria viridis Zeljko Jovanovic1, Morten Larsen1,2,3, Cintia Organo Quintana1, Erik Kristensen1, Ronnie N. Glud1,2,3,4,* 1Institute of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark 2Scottish Association for Marine Science, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban PA37 1QA, UK 3Greenland Climate Research Center (CO Greenland Institute of National Resources), Kivioq 2, Box 570, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland 4Artic Research Center, C. F. Møllers Allè 8, 8000 Aarhus University C, Denmark *Corresponding author: rnglud@biology.sdu.dk ABSTRACT: The polychaete Marenzelleria viridis is an invasive species and often replaces the native Nereis diversicolor. This shift leads to more reduced conditions and changes in the biogeochemical function of the sediments. By combining imaging techniques for O2 (planar optodes) and irrigation patterns (rhodamine WT and brilliant blue), we investigated the relationship between irrigation and O2 dynamics in burrows of M. viridis. The investigated animals shifted between 2 modes of ventilation: ciliary pumping for 77% of the time and muscular pumping for 23% of the time. On average, muscular pumping was induced every 0.4 h. During ciliary pumping, oxic water was pumped into blind-ended burrows and into the surrounding sediment, inducing an upward porewater transport of O2-depleted water. This pattern was reversed during muscular pumping. The 2 pumping modes induced oscillating O2 penetration along the burrow wall and along the primary sediment-water interface. The average net downward irrigation rate, including both pumping modes, amounted to 11.1 × 10-3 ± 2.4 × 10-3 ml min-1. The estimated average oxic sediment volume was 2.1 ± 0.5 cm3 per burrow, and the burrow-specific O2 consumption was 45.6 ± 18.1 nmol min-1. M. viridis burrows and the ambient sediment are relatively O2 depleted, with intensified rates of O2 consumption, compared to similar-sized native N. diversicolor. The complex O2 dynamics induced a unique microenvironment that must favor meiofauna and microbial communities that are tolerant to oxic-anoxic oscillations or that have the ability to migrate along with the pulsing oxic-anoxic interface. KEY WORDS: Bioirrigation · Oxygen dynamics · Marenzelleria viridis · Planar optode · Rhodamine Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Jovanovic Z, Larsen M, Organo Quintana C, Kristensen E, Glud RN (2014) Oxygen dynamics and porewater transport in sediments inhabited by the invasive polychaete Marenzelleria viridis. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 504:181-192. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10737 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 504. Online publication date: May 14, 2014 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2014 Inter-Research.