‘Sticky business’: The influence of streambed periphyton on particle deposition and infiltration

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Strong feedbacks exist between physical and ecological components of aquatic systems. Aquatic plants can alter flow and sedimentation patterns, in turn influencing habitat condition and organism responses. In this study, I investigate the interactions between streambed periphyton, particle deposition and infiltration, and flow hydraulics to determine the influence of these organisms on the local environment. In a series of flume experiments, I measured the effects of two contrasting forms of periphyton at several densities and growth stages on near-bed hydraulics, particle loss from the water column, surface deposition, and subsurface infiltration. Data show that periphyton assemblages altered the rate and quantity of particle deposition via several mechanisms, including shear stress modification, surface adhesion, and bed clogging. Although trends varied for different size classes within a suspension of fine sediment, diatoms and algae had distinctly different effects on hydraulics, deposition, and infiltration. In general, diatoms increased the rate of decline in suspended particle concentrations relative to non-periphyton surfaces by reducing shear stresses and enhancing surface deposition via adhesion. Increases in diatom biomass, however, reduced the quantity and depth of particle infiltration, presumably by clogging interstitial pore spaces, in turn lowering rates of concentration decline. In contrast, all algal growth stages had slower or similar rates of concentration decline compared to non-periphyton conditions, due to partial clogging by high biomass and a lack of adhesion at the bed surface. Clogging effects were counteracted at later growth stages, however, as late-stage algal structures increased shear stresses and downward advection, in turn increasing amounts of infiltration. Compiled data from several field studies and experiments demonstrate a positive relation between periphyton biomass and inorganic mass, but also show a wide range in the relation because of external factors such as discharge and suspended sediment concentration. My analysis indicates that the decrease in the concentration of suspended particles under controlled conditions is strongly influenced by periphyton structure, through direct mechanisms such as adhesion and clogging as well as indirect changes to hydraulics, but that external factors in field settings such as discharge and sediment supply may outweigh the effects of periphyton structure.