Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin
The heterogeneous topography of continental margins can influence patterns of resource availability and biodiversity in deep-sea sediments, potentially altering ecosystem functioning (e.g., organic matter remineralization). Noting a lack of studies that address the latter, we contrasted spatial patt...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmars.2021.756054 2024-03-31T07:54:36+00:00 Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin Miatta, Marta Snelgrove, Paul V. R. 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Marine Science volume 8 ISSN 2296-7745 Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography journal-article 2021 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054 2024-03-05T00:15:11Z The heterogeneous topography of continental margins can influence patterns of resource availability and biodiversity in deep-sea sediments, potentially altering ecosystem functioning (e.g., organic matter remineralization). Noting a lack of studies that address the latter, we contrasted spatial patterns and drivers of benthic nutrient fluxes and multiple characteristics of macrofaunal communities in shelf, slope, canyon and inter-canyon sedimentary habitats along the Northwest Atlantic continental margin. Replicate sediment push cores were collected from 10 stations (229–996 m depth), incubated for ∼48 h to estimate fluxes of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphate, and silicate (as a measure of organic matter remineralization) and subsequently analyzed to characterize macrofaunal communities. We also considered various environmental factors, including sedimentary organic matter quantity and quality, and assessed their influence on fluxes and macrofauna. Comparatively high macrofaunal density and distinct community composition and trait expression characterized Georges Canyon, where elevated sedimentary organic matter suggested important lateral transport mechanisms along this canyon axis, with deposition of organic matter strongly affecting biological communities but not benthic nutrient fluxes. Lower penetration of macrofauna into the sediments, distinct community composition, biological traits, and higher nutrient flux rates characterized inter-canyon habitats compared to slope habitats at similar depths. Within inter-canyons, intermediate to low organic matter suggested hydrodynamic forces inhibiting organic matter deposition, affecting biological and functional processes. The input of fresh phytodetritus to the seafloor was the best predictor of macrofaunal density and diversity and contributed to variation in macrofaunal community composition and biological trait expression, together with latitude, depth, and other measures of organic matter quantity and quality. Benthic nutrient fluxes revealed complex ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Atlantic Frontiers (Publisher) Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
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collection |
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topic |
Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography |
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Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography Miatta, Marta Snelgrove, Paul V. R. Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin |
topic_facet |
Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography |
description |
The heterogeneous topography of continental margins can influence patterns of resource availability and biodiversity in deep-sea sediments, potentially altering ecosystem functioning (e.g., organic matter remineralization). Noting a lack of studies that address the latter, we contrasted spatial patterns and drivers of benthic nutrient fluxes and multiple characteristics of macrofaunal communities in shelf, slope, canyon and inter-canyon sedimentary habitats along the Northwest Atlantic continental margin. Replicate sediment push cores were collected from 10 stations (229–996 m depth), incubated for ∼48 h to estimate fluxes of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphate, and silicate (as a measure of organic matter remineralization) and subsequently analyzed to characterize macrofaunal communities. We also considered various environmental factors, including sedimentary organic matter quantity and quality, and assessed their influence on fluxes and macrofauna. Comparatively high macrofaunal density and distinct community composition and trait expression characterized Georges Canyon, where elevated sedimentary organic matter suggested important lateral transport mechanisms along this canyon axis, with deposition of organic matter strongly affecting biological communities but not benthic nutrient fluxes. Lower penetration of macrofauna into the sediments, distinct community composition, biological traits, and higher nutrient flux rates characterized inter-canyon habitats compared to slope habitats at similar depths. Within inter-canyons, intermediate to low organic matter suggested hydrodynamic forces inhibiting organic matter deposition, affecting biological and functional processes. The input of fresh phytodetritus to the seafloor was the best predictor of macrofaunal density and diversity and contributed to variation in macrofaunal community composition and biological trait expression, together with latitude, depth, and other measures of organic matter quantity and quality. Benthic nutrient fluxes revealed complex ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Miatta, Marta Snelgrove, Paul V. R. |
author_facet |
Miatta, Marta Snelgrove, Paul V. R. |
author_sort |
Miatta, Marta |
title |
Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin |
title_short |
Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin |
title_full |
Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin |
title_fullStr |
Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin |
title_sort |
sedimentary organic matter shapes macrofaunal communities but not benthic nutrient fluxes in contrasting habitats along the northwest atlantic continental margin |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054/full |
genre |
Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northwest Atlantic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science volume 8 ISSN 2296-7745 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
_version_ |
1795035588712202240 |