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Effects of detrital non-native and native macroalgae on the nitrogen and carbon cycling in intertidal sediments

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Abstract

The decay of non-native and native seaweed mixing may modify sediment biogeochemistry and organic matter transfers within benthic food webs according to their composition and biomass. The non-native species Sargassum muticum was deliberately added to the sediment of an intertidal sandflat at different biomass and mixed to the native species Ulva sp. and Fucus vesiculosus. The sediment porewater was then 13C and 15N enriched to test whether both detrital diversity and biomass influenced the transfer of porewater carbon and nitrogen to the sediment and to the macrofauna consumers. More 15N-nitrogen was mobilized to sediments and macrofauna when the 3-species detrital mixing was buried, probably because this mixing provided species-specific compounds such as polyphenols due to the presence of S. muticum and F. vesiculosus, as well as large amounts of nitrogen due to the presence of Ulva. Our study revealed the importance of detrital diversity and non-native seaweeds for the nitrogen cycling in the benthic food web.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported by the Spanish Government through the Ministry of Education and Science-FEDER (PROJECT CGL2006-27880-E) and through the Ministry of Science and Innovation-FEDER (PROJECT CGL2009-07205). Dr. Cristina Docal (IMAR-CMA, Coimbra, Portugal) greatly helped for the isotope analyses. Comments on the manuscript by two anonymous referees greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Ecosystemes Lagunaires, Université Montpellier 2, Case 093, UMR CNRS-UM2 5119, 34 095, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Francesca Rossi

  2. Centro Tecnológico del Mar-Fundación CETMAR, C/Eduardo Cabello s/n, 36208, Bouzas-Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain

    Mónica Incera

  3. School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Myriam Callier

  4. Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidad de Vigo, Campus As Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310, Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain

    Celia Olabarria

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  1. Francesca Rossi
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  2. Mónica Incera
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  3. Myriam Callier
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  4. Celia Olabarria
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Correspondence to Francesca Rossi.

Additional information

Communicated by M. Huettel.

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Rossi, F., Incera, M., Callier, M. et al. Effects of detrital non-native and native macroalgae on the nitrogen and carbon cycling in intertidal sediments. Mar Biol 158, 2705–2715 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1768-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1768-6

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