Responses by benthic organisms to inputs of organic material to the ocean floor: a review

1990 ◽  
Vol 331 (1616) ◽  
pp. 119-138 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Material ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Ocean Floor ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Benthic Organisms ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Reproductive Cycles ◽  
Benthic Ecosystems ◽  
Deposit Feeding ◽  
Northeastern Atlantic

Most of the photosynthetically produced organic material reaching the ocean-floor is transported as settling particles, among which larger particles such as faecal pellets and macroaggregates (marine snow) are particularly important. Recent studies in the northeastern Atlantic have demonstrated that macroaggregates originating from the euphotic zone settle at a rate of approximately 100-150 m d -1 to form a deposit (phytodetritus) on the sediment surface. Bacteria and protozoa (flagellates and foraminifers) rapidly colonize and multiply on phytodetritus, while large deposit feeding animals ingest it. Other inputs, for example Sargassum , wood and vertebrate carcasses, also evoke a rapid response by benthic organisms. However, the taxa that respond depend on the form of the organic material. The intermittent or seasonally pulsed nature of phytodetritus and many other inputs regulate the population dynamics and reproductive cycles of some responding species. These are often opportunists that are able to utilize ephemeral food resources and, therefore, undergo rapid fluctuations in population density. In addition, the patchy distribution of much of the organic material deposited on the ocean-floor probably plays a major role in structuring deep-sea benthic ecosystems.

Interactions between benthic molluscs in a Sulawesi mangal, Indonesia: the cerithiid mud-creeper Cerithium coralium and potamidid mud-whelks, Terebralia spp.

2003 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.S.K. BARNES
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
High Density ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Normal Range ◽  
Numerous Species ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Strong Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Deposit Feeding ◽  
Very High

The sediment surface within the Osbornia belt of a mangal on Pulau Hoga, Tukang Besi Islands, Sulawesi, Indonesia, is dominated inter alia by deposit-feeding gastropod molluscs at a mean density of some 230 ind m−2 although, unusually, species of Cerithidea do not occur. Densities of the two most numerous species, the potamidid mud-whelk Terebralia sulcata and the Cerithidea-like cerithiid mud-creeper Cerithium coralium, are inversely correlated, although the species occurred together in 42% of quadrat samples. Within and beyond the normal range of field densities of each species (C. coralium mean 153 m−2; T. sulcata mean 75 m−2) there was no evidence of intraspecific depression of feeding rate, as assessed by the production of faecal pellets, although this was significantly reduced in the occasional very high density aggregations of C. coralium (>1100 m−2). The presence of the larger T. sulcata did appear to have a strong inhibitory effect on feeding in C. coralium; the converse, however, could not be demonstrated. Abundances of Terebralia palustris and C. coralium were also inversely correlated where the two co-occurred.

scholarly journals EVIDENCE OF MASS MORTALITY OF THE LONG-LIVED BIVALVE MERCENARIA STIMPSONI CAUSED BY A CATASTROPHIC TSUNAMI

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Kaoru Kubota ◽  
Kotaro Shirai ◽  
Naoko Murakami-Sugihara ◽  
Koji Seike ◽  
Masayo Minami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Mortality ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Benthic Organisms ◽  
Nuclear Bomb ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Sea Bottom ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
Benthic Ecosystems

ABSTRACT Tsunamis are huge disasters that can significantly damage benthic organisms and the sea-bottom environment in coastal areas. It is of great ecological importance to understand how benthic ecosystems respond to such destructive forces and how individual species are affected. Investigating the effect of such disasters on animals that are seldom caught alive is particularly difficult. Bivalve mollusks are especially suitable for investigating how a tsunami affects coastal benthic species because they preserve an environmental record in their shells that can be extended back in time by crossdating the records of multiple individuals. Here we studied dead shells of Mercenaria stimpsoni, a long-lived clam, and precisely determined the time of death by using nuclear bomb–induced radiocarbon (bomb-14C) and by counting annual growth increments. First, a quasi-continuous, regional bomb-14C record was created by analyzing the shells of 6 live-caught M. stimpsoni individuals. Then 27 dead shells collected from the seafloor of Funakoshi Bay were 14C-dated and analyzed. The results showed that the huge tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on 11 March 2011 caused mass mortality of this bivalve in Funakoshi Bay. Nine of the 27 clams died during the March 2011 tsunami, probably by starvation after burial by tsunami deposits or exposure above the seafloor as a result of sediment liquefaction during the earthquake. The dating method used in this study can help us understand how long-lived marine organisms with low population density are affected by huge natural disasters such as a tsunami.

scholarly journals Multidecadal increase in plastic particles in coastal ocean sediments

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. eaax0587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Brandon ◽  
William Jones ◽  
Mark D. Ohman
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Doubling Time ◽  
Coastal Sediments ◽  
Benthic Organisms ◽  
World War ◽  
Santa Barbara ◽  
Santa Barbara Basin ◽  
Exponential Increase ◽  
Great Acceleration ◽  
Deposit Feeding

We analyzed coastal sediments of the Santa Barbara Basin, California, for historical changes in microplastic deposition using a box core that spanned 1834–2009. The sediment was visually sorted for plastic, and a subset was confirmed as plastic polymers via FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy. After correcting for contamination introduced during sample processing, we found an exponential increase in plastic deposition from 1945 to 2009 with a doubling time of 15 years. This increase correlated closely with worldwide plastic production and southern California coastal population increases over the same period. Increased plastic loading in sediments has unknown consequences for deposit-feeding benthic organisms. This increase in plastic deposition in the post–World War II years can be used as a geological proxy for the Great Acceleration of the Anthropocene in the sedimentary record.

Association between the ghost shrimp Trypaea australiensis Dana 1852 (Crustacea : Decapoda) and a small deposit-feeding bivalve Mysella vitrea Laserson 1956 (Mollusca : Leptonidae)

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Kerr ◽  
Jamie Corfield
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Carbon Distribution ◽  
Intertidal Sediments ◽  
Feeding Mode ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Deposit Feeding

The deep-burrowing species Trypaea australiensis and Mysella vitrea inhabit intertidal sediments of the Richmond River, northern New South Wales. Laboratory experiments indicated that a facultative commensal association may exist between the two organisms, because although the bivalves survived independently, their vertical distribution in sediment was significantly different in the presence of T. australiensis. Field observations indicated that redox potential and bivalve abundance in sediment are weakly correlated. However, the absence of strongly reducing conditions in the first metre of the sediment, due to T. australiensis burrow irrigation, may increase potential niche size for M. vitrea. Tank observations revealed no aggregation of M vitrea around the burrows. Feeding observations suggested that M. vitrea can feed either by collecting particles off the sediment surface or by interstitial pedal feeding; the latter feeding mode would allow use of shrimp burrows for feeding. T. australiensis alters organic carbon distribution in the sediment profile, concentrations being significantly higher in the lowermost regions where T. australiensis was present than in controls. Thus, enrichment resulting from the activities of T. australiensis may provide some reward for the energetic cost to M. vitrea of burrowing deeply.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Age Offsets in Different-Sized Carbonate Components of Deep-Sea Sediments

Radiocarbon ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Thomson ◽  
G. T. Cook ◽  
Robert Anderson ◽  
A. B. MacKenzie ◽  
D. D. Harkness ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Accumulation ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
Bulk Sediment ◽  
Radiocarbon Age ◽  
Oxygen Isotope Record ◽  
Isotope Record ◽  
Large Foraminifera ◽  
Sediment Age ◽  
Northeastern Atlantic

We compared accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C ages of large (>150 μm) pelagic foraminifera with radiometric bulk carbonate 14C ages in two northeastern Atlantic cores. The foraminiferal ages are consistently older than those of the bulk sediment (by + 0.76 ka in Core 11881 and by + 1.1 ka in Core 11886), whereas corresponding fine (<5 μm) fraction ages are similar to those of the bulk sediment carbonate. We calculated near-identical sediment accumulation rates from both the foraminiferal and bulk sediment age/depth relations (3.0 cm ka−1 in Core 11881 and 5.9 cm ka−1 in Core 11886). Consideration of various factors that might produce such offsets leads us to believe that they are not artifacts, but were most probably caused by differential bioturbation of the different size-fractions in the sediment surface mixed layer. The importance of this finding is that many paleoceanographic records, such as the oxygen isotope record, also derive from analyses of large foraminifera, so that these records must be offset in time from the bulk of the sediments that they characterize.

scholarly journals TRANSFER OF RADIOCAESIUM FROM CONTAMINATED BOTTOM SEDIMENTS TO MARINE ORGANISMS THROUGH BENTHIC FOOD CHAIN IN POST-FUKUSHIMA AND POST-CHERNOBYL PERIODS

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Bezhenar ◽  
Kyung Tae Jung ◽  
Vladimir Maderich ◽  
Stefan Willemsen ◽  
Govert de With ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Bottom Sediments ◽  
Food Chain ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Marine Organisms ◽  
Benthic Organisms ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Benthic Food ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Deposit Feeding

Abstract. After the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, 2011 damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), an accidental release of a large amount of radioactive isotopes into both the air and the ocean occurred. Measurements provided by the Japanese agencies over the past four years show that elevated concentrations of 137Cs still remain in sediments, benthic organisms and demersal fishes in the coastal zone around the FDNPP. These observations indicate that there are 137Cs transfer pathways from bottom sediments to the marine organisms. To describe the transfer quantitatively, the dynamic food chain model BURN has been extended to include benthic marine organisms. The extended model takes into account both pelagic and benthic marine organisms grouped into several classes based on their trophic level and type of species: phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fishes (two types: piscivorous and non-piscivorous) for the pelagic food chain; deposit feeding invertebrates, demersal fishes feeding by benthic invertebrates and bottom omnivorous predators for the benthic food chain; crustaceans, molluscs and coastal predators feeding on both pelagic and benthic organisms. Bottom invertebrates ingest organic parts of bottom sediments with adsorbed radionuclides which then migrate up through the food chain. All organisms take radionuclides directly from water as well as food. The model was implemented into the compartment model POSEIDON-R and applied to the Northwestern Pacific for the period of 1945–2010 and then for the period of 2011–2020 to assess the radiological consequences of releases of 137Cs due to FDNPP accident. The model simulations for activity concentrations of 137Cs in both pelagic and benthic organisms in the coastal area around the FDNPP agree well with measurements for the period of 2011–2015. The decrease constant in the fitted exponential function of simulated concentration for the deposit ingesting invertebrates (0.45 y–1) is close to the decrease constant for the sediment observations (0.44 y–1), indicating that the gradual decrease of activity in the demersal fish (decrease constant is 0.46 y–1) was caused by the transfer of activity from organic matter deposited in bottom sediment through the deposit feeding invertebrates. The estimated from model transfer coefficient from bulk sediment to demersal fish in the model for 2012–2020 (0.13) is larger than that to the deposit feeding invertebrates (0.07) due to the biomagnification effect. In addition, the transfer of 137Cs through food webs for the period of 1945–2020 has been modelled for the Baltic Sea that was essentially contaminated due to global fallout and the Chernobyl accident. The model simulation results obtained with generic parameters are also in good agreement with available measurements in the Baltic Sea. Due to weak water exchange with the North Sea of the semi-enclosed Baltic Sea the chain of water-sediments- biota slowly evolves into a quasi-equilibrium state unlike the processes off the open Pacific Ocean coast where the FDNPP is located. Obtained results demonstrate the importance of the benthic food chain in the long-term transfer of 137Cs from contaminated bottom sediments to marine organisms and the potential of a generic model for the use in different regions of the World Ocean.

The dynamics of organic production in the Rockall Channel area

1986 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 207-220
Author(s):  
B. Zeitzschel
Keyword(s):  
Spring Bloom ◽  
Standing Stock ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Cell Aggregates ◽  
Nutrient Depletion ◽  
New Production ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
The Stability

SynopsisFor the onset of the phytoplankton spring bloom in temperate waters, the irradiance, the concentration of accumulated nutrients and the stability of the water column are of great importance. The “new” production in spring is produced mainly by chain forming diatoms.The dissipation of the spring bloom is due to nutrient depletion in the stabilised surface layer, loss of cells by sinking and grazing by herbivorous zooplankton. After the nutrient concentration is lowered, the rate of production will depend primarily on the rate of replenishment of nutrients. In open ocean environments we find “regenerated production” which is due to exudated and excreted nutrient salts e.g. ammonium. The dominating group of phytoplankters are small flagellates. It is argued that a substantial part of the phytoplankton standing stock in spring is lost from the euphotic zone due to direct sinking of cells or accelerated sinking of cell-aggregates. It is postulated that faecal pellets of micro- and mesozooplankton are retained and recycled in the mixed layer, whereas macrozooplankton faecal strings transport a considerable amount of organic matter to the benthal.

Observations on the behaviour of Thalassema thalassemum (echiura: echiuridae)

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 963-966
Author(s):  
L.A. Nickell ◽  
R.J.A. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Dorsal Surface ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
Distal Portion ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Ciliary Movement ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Particle Collection ◽  
Closed Tube ◽  
Sediment Particles

The echiuran worm Thalassema thalassemum (Echiura: Echiuridae), is a deposit-feeder which uses its proboscis to collect sediment particles for ingestion. The proboscis is highly extensible and is used with dorsal surface downwards to skim particles from the sediment surface. Alternatively, the distal portion of the proboscis is arched over and the ventral surface of the tip is held against the sediment surface where ciliary movement facilitates particle collection. These methods are used in combination and collected material is moved back along the proboscis, the edges of which are rolled to form a closed tube. Burrows appear to be U-shaped with one predominantly inhalant and one exhalant opening. Faecal pellets are periodically ejected forming small mounds around exhalant openings and mean rates of 1·83 and 2·80 g dry wt d−1 were measured suggesting that, in sufficient densities, this species could make a significant contribution to macrofaunal bioturbation.

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