Abstract
Vertical distribution patterns of organic geochemical constituents and the enzymes aminopeptidase and β-glucosidase provide insights about the nature and reactivity of sediment organic matter in the sandy sediments of two shallow “South Texas” estuaries. Sediment total organic carbon (TOC) δ13C values indicated that the organic matter (OM) was derived more from a mixture of seagrass and phytoplankton than from terrigenous OM. Down-core amounts of TOC and total nitrogen (TN) were <0.2% of dry weight, respectively. Enzyme activities were highest near surface and ranged from 25 to 1 μM/h for aminopeptidase as compared to 5 to 0.2 μM/h for glucosidase. In Aransas Bay, aminopeptidase activity correlated with sediment TN content (r s = 0.30) and β-glucosidase with TOC content (r s = 0.27). In Copano Bay, aminopeptidase correlated with TOC, TN, and carbohydrate content (r s = 0.89, 0.90, and 0.83, respectively). Variations of glucosidase activity also related positively to TOC, TN, and total carbohydrate content (r s = 0.68, 0.77, and 0.48, respectively). Overall, enzyme activities in these low OM, sandy sediments resembled those for other benthic marine environments.
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