Abstract
Sediments obtained from Swifts Brook were highly organic whereas those from Canagagigue Creek were coarse-textured with relatively little organic content. Columns of sediment were overlain with continuously aerated 10 mg/L nitrate-N solution or distilled water. When columns of Canagagigue sediment with tubificid worms (Tubifex tubifex and Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri) were incubated for 33 d they lost nitrate-N at a significantly higher rate (P < 0.01) than did columns without worms. Following the initial period of nitrate disappearance (resulting from denitrification in the sediment) nitrate-N increased again, this increase being greatest in the presence of worms. The increasing concentration of nitrate-N probably resulted from nitrification which was masked early in the experiment by rapid denitrification. In columns with Swifts Brook sediment, added nitrate disappeared rapidly but no significant difference was observed between the columns with worms and those without; nitrate-N concentration was never observed to increase. Possibly both nitrification and denitrification are also enhanced here by the presence of tubificids but the effects are masked. Key words: tubificids, denitrification, nitrification, stream sediment, nitrate, ammonium, fecal pellets
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