Algal Retention Research Articles

Drift Algal Accumulation in Ice Scour Pits Provides an Underestimated Ecological Subsidy in a Novel Antarctic Soft-Sediment Habitat.

Ice scouring is one of the strongest agents of disturbance in nearshore environments at high latitudes. In depths, less than 20 m, grounding icebergs reshape the soft-sediment seabed by gouging furrows called ice pits. Large amounts of drift algae (up to 5.6 kg/m2) that would otherwise be transported to deeper water accumulate inside these features, representing an underestimated subsidy. Our work documents the distribution and dimensions of ice pits in Fildes Bay, Antarctica, and evaluates their relationship to the biomass and species composition of algae found within them. It also assesses the rates of deposition and advective loss of algae in the pits. The 17 ice pits found in the study area covered only 4.2% of the seabed but contained 98% of drift algal biomass, i.e., 60 times the density (kg/m2) of the surrounding seabed. Larger ice pits had larger and denser algal accumulations than small pits and had different species compositions. The accumulations were stable over time: experimentally cleared pits regained initial biomass levels after one year, and advective loss was less than 15% annually. Further research is needed to understand the impacts of ice scouring and subsequent algal retention on ecosystem functioning in this rapidly changing polar environment.

Microbial fuel cell improves restoration of Hydrilla verticillata in an algae-rich sediment microcosm system

Settled algae may be used as nutrient for macrophyte establishment, but also can induce marked macrophyte decline during deep anaerobic decomposition. Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) may promote the utilization of algae-derived nutrients and relieve bio-toxicity from settled algae to submerged macrophytes, thus facilitating plant production. To test these hypotheses, a 62-day comparative study was designed and conducted in microcosms with the following six treatments: control (open-circuit SMFC), plant (open-circuit SMFC with plants), algae (open-circuit SMFC with algae), algae-plant (open-circuit SMFC with algae and plants), algae-SMFC (closed-circuit SMFC with algae), and algae-plant-SMFC (closed-circuit SMFC with algae and plants). The results showed that the presence of Hydrilla verticillata improved the power generation of SMFCs when algae were used as substrates during the whole operation. The decomposition of sedimented algae experienced two periods since the injection. During the slight decomposition period (14–38 day), the algal retention in sediments was enhanced by H. verticillata as a nutrient source. Nitrogen (N) assimilation in plant shoots was facilitated under electrogenesis due to a simultaneous increase of algae-derived dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and ammonium (NH4+) in the water column. At the end of the 38th day, the biomass of H. verticillata were increased by 21.4% and 52.3%, respectively, in the algae-plant and algae-plant-SMFC, compared with that in plant treatment. Obvious NH4+-stress was exerted on H. verticillata during the following intense algal decomposition period (38–62 day). Compared with shoots, roots of H. verticillata were more sensitive to the biotoxicity of algae-derived NH4+. The electrogenetic process diverted the degradation pathway from acetoclastic methanogenesis to electrogenesis via redox cycle, resulting in delayed algal decomposition in algae-SMFC treatment. In addition, electrogenesis enhanced the removal of algae-derived N. As a result, NH4+ toxicity to plant roots was effectively alleviated, and sedimented algae served as a stable nutrient source for plant development. Stable transfer rate of algae-derived N from sediments to plant roots was observed, while the assimilation rate of algae-derived N from water column to plant shoots showed a constant increase in the algae-plant-SMFC treatment. Electrogenesis enhanced N-fixing capacity belonged to rhizosphere of H. verticillata, evidenced by greater enrichment of some plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), including Bradyrhizobium, Mycobacterium, Paenibacillus, Mesorhizobium, and Roseomonas in the algae-plant-SMFC treatment. At the end of the experiment, marked increases in the production of H. verticillata in algae-plant-SMFC were observed, with 90.1% and 32.8%, respectively, when compared with algae-plant and plant treatments (p < 0.05). SMFC application could be used as a strategy to promote the growth of submerged macrophytes in algae-rich sediments.

Spatial Variations of Phytoplankton Biomass Controlled by River Plume Dynamics Over the Lower Changjiang Estuary and Adjacent Shelf Based on High-Resolution Observations

Phytoplankton biomass in estuarine and continental shelf regions are regulated and modified by physical processes, but these interactions have mostly been investigated at a scale of tens of kilometers, and the role of meso- to sub-mesoscale dynamical processes of freshwater plumes in regulating the spatial and temporal variations of algal biomass is largely unknown. To assess the importance of features at these scales, high-resolution (horizontal spacing smaller than 1 km) cross-sectional profiles of hydrographic and biogeochemical variables were collected in the lower Changjiang Estuary and adjacent continental shelf with a towed, undulating vehicle equipped with sensors measuring fluorescence, turbidity and irradiance. Discrete stations were also occupied to allow for the characterization of nutrients. Multiple physical features at different scales regulated the spatial variation of phytoplankton biomass. Phytoplankton biomass was initialized by an improved irradiance field driven by reduced turbidity together with a rapid development of subsurface stratification at the main plume front (isohaline of 23) downstream from the turbidity maximum zone. Phytoplankton blooms did not occur until outcrops located within the main front that were characterized by surface convergence and downwelling, which contributed to large algal biomass by mass trapping and enhanced light penetration. Wave-like features were detected seaward of the main front, coinciding with deacceleration of currents, indicating that they are front-released internal waves that increase algal retention time. This study revealed the critical role of small-scale processes near the plume front in triggering phytoplankton blooms under the large-scale context of improved light conditions, coastal upwelling and nutrient additions from intruding oceanic waters.

Free-Radical Redox Timer and Antioxidant Therapy of Aging: From Chemistry of Free Radicals to Systems Theory of Reliability

Settled algae may be used as nutrient for macrophyte establishment, but also can induce marked macrophyte decline during deep anaerobic decomposition. Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) may promote the utilization of algae-derived nutrients and relieve bio-toxicity from settled algae to submerged macrophytes, thus facilitating plant production. To test these hypotheses, a 62-day comparative study was designed and conducted in microcosms with the following six treatments: control (open-circuit SMFC), plant (open-circuit SMFC with plants), algae (open-circuit SMFC with algae), algae-plant (open-circuit SMFC with algae and plants), algae-SMFC (closed-circuit SMFC with algae), and algae-plant-SMFC (closed-circuit SMFC with algae and plants). The results showed that the presence of Hydrilla verticillata improved the power generation of SMFCs when algae were used as substrates during the whole operation. The decomposition of sedimented algae experienced two periods since the injection. During the slight decomposition period (14–38 day), the algal retention in sediments was enhanced by H. verticillata as a nutrient source. Nitrogen (N) assimilation in plant shoots was facilitated under electrogenesis due to a simultaneous increase of algae-derived dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and ammonium (NH4+) in the water column. At the end of the 38th day, the biomass of H. verticillata were increased by 21.4% and 52.3%, respectively, in the algae-plant and algae-plant-SMFC, compared with that in plant treatment. Obvious NH4+-stress was exerted on H. verticillata during the following intense algal decomposition period (38–62 day). Compared with shoots, roots of H. verticillata were more sensitive to the biotoxicity of algae-derived NH4+. The electrogenetic process diverted the degradation pathway from acetoclastic methanogenesis to electrogenesis via redox cycle, resulting in delayed algal decomposition in algae-SMFC treatment. In addition, electrogenesis enhanced the removal of algae-derived N. As a result, NH4+ toxicity to plant roots was effectively alleviated, and sedimented algae served as a stable nutrient source for plant development. Stable transfer rate of algae-derived N from sediments to plant roots was observed, while the assimilation rate of algae-derived N from water column to plant shoots showed a constant increase in the algae-plant-SMFC treatment. Electrogenesis enhanced N-fixing capacity belonged to rhizosphere of H. verticillata, evidenced by greater enrichment of some plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), including Bradyrhizobium, Mycobacterium, Paenibacillus, Mesorhizobium, and Roseomonas in the algae-plant-SMFC treatment. At the end of the experiment, marked increases in the production of H. verticillata in algae-plant-SMFC were observed, with 90.1% and 32.8%, respectively, when compared with algae-plant and plant treatments (p < 0.05). SMFC application could be used as a strategy to promote the growth of submerged macrophytes in algae-rich sediments.

Carbon Dynamics on the Louisiana Continental Shelf and Cross-Shelf Feeding of Hypoxia

Large-scale hypoxia regularly develops during the summer on the Louisiana continental shelf. Traditionally, hypoxia has been linked to the vast winter and spring nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River and its distributary, the Atchafalaya River. However, recent studies indicate that much of the shelf ecosystem is heterotrophic. We used data from five late July shelfwide cruises from 2006 to 2010 to examine carbon and oxygen production and identify net autotrophic areas of phytoplankton growth on the Louisiana shelf. During these summer times of moderate river flows, shelfwide pH and particulate organic carbon (POC) consistently showed strong signals for net autotrophy in low salinity (<25) waters near the river mouths. There was substantial POC removal via grazing and sedimentation in near-river regions, with 66–85 % of POC lost from surface waters in the low and mid-salinity ranges without producing strong respiration signals in surface waters. This POC removal in nearshore environments indicates highly efficient algal retention by the shelf ecosystem. Updated carbon export calculations for local estuaries and a preliminary shelfwide carbon budget agree with older concepts that offshore hypoxia is linked strongly to nutrient loading from the Mississippi River, but a new emphasis on cross-shelf dynamics emerged in this research. Cross-shelf transects indicated that river-influenced nearshore waters <15 m deep are strong sources of net carbon production, with currents and wave-induced resuspension likely transporting this POC offshore to fuel hypoxia in adjacent mid-shelf bottom waters.

Density-dependent facilitation cascades determine epifaunal community structure in temperate Australian mangroves.

Co-occurring foundation species can determine biological community structure via facilitation cascades. We examined the density dependencies of facilitation cascades, including how the density of a basal foundation species influences the density of secondary foundation species, and how the density of secondary foundation species influences community structure. The system in which we assessed density dependencies was a temperate mangrove forest in which pneumatophores trap the fucoid alga Hormosira banksii and provide substrate for the oyster, Saccostrea glomerata. The alga and oyster in turn determine benthic community structure. In the field, algal biomass was positively correlated with pneumatophore density. Oysters, by contrast, were highly over-dispersed and correlated with the presence/absence of pneumatophores. Epifaunal abundance and species richness were positively correlated with algal and oyster abundance, but their effects were independent. The positive effect of pneumatophore density on epifauna was primarily an indirect effect of trapping more algae. Pneumatophores did not directly influence invertebrate communities. Experiments revealed that, at very low pneumatophore densities, algal retention was insufficient to facilitate epifauna above that found on pneumatophores alone. At higher densities, however, increasing the density of pneumatophores increased algal retention, and the density and diversity of associated invertebrates. Shading by the mangrove canopy reduced algal biomass but did not modify the density-dependent nature of the cascade. Our results extend facilitation theory by showing that the density of both basal and secondary foundation species can be critical in triggering facilitation cascades. Our study also reveals that, where foundation species co-occur, multiple, independent cascades may arise from a single basal facilitator. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of density-dependent facilitation cascades in community assembly.

Effect of advective pore water transport on distribution and degradation of diatoms in permeable North Sea sediments

This contribution addresses the incorporation and degradation of diatoms in coastal fine, medium and coarse North Sea sands. During 3 cruises in 2001 to a highly dynamic, non-depositional area in the southern German Bight, the transport of 13 C-labeled diatoms into these different permeable sand beds was assessed by in situ and on-board chamber experiments. Enhanced advective transport of diatom frustules and 13 C-enriched diatom carbon into sandy sediments with increasing permeability was demonstrated. Highest transport rates were observed in medium and coarse sand, where 6 % of the added algae were found below 1 cm after 20 h incubation. In the coarse sand, the high ratio between sand grain and particle size enhanced the delivery of algae to the sediment, but seemed to reduce the filtration efficiency and thus algal retention. Broken frustules of Thalassiosira sp., the diatom which dominated the diatom spring bloom in 2001, were found in the medium and coarse sand in autumn. This indicates that advective transport and, to some limited extent, bioturbation, deposits phytoplankton into these sandy sediments, where strong bottom currents theoretically would prevent the sedimentation of low-density organic material. The trapped cells are rapidly degraded, as observed in our chamber experiments, where 28 % of the added diatom carbon was released as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) per day after the third incubation day. We conclude that permeable sediments represent expansive coastal filter systems, where high advective flushing rates boost remineralization of trapped algal cells. These processes promote a fast recycling of organic matter and, thus, may be important for maintaining high primary production rates in shelf environments.