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Rare but large bivalves alter benthic respiration and nutrient recycling in riverine sediments

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Abstract

Bioturbation studies have generally analyzed small and abundant organisms while the contribution to the benthic metabolism by rare, large macrofauna has received little attention. We hypothesize that large, sporadic bivalves may represent a hot spot for benthic processes due to a combination of direct and indirect effects as their metabolic and bioturbation activities. Intact riverine sediments with and without individuals of the bivalve Sinanodonta woodiana were collected in a reach with transparent water, where the occurrence of the mollusk was clearly visible. The bivalve metabolism and its effects on sedimentary fluxes of dissolved gas and nutrients were measured via laboratory incubations of intact cores under controlled conditions. S. woodiana contributed significantly to O2 and TCO2 benthic fluxes through its respiration and to \({\text{NH}}_{4}^{ + }\), SRP and SiO2 regeneration via its excretion. The bivalve significantly stimulated also microbial denitrification and determined a large efflux of CH4, likely due a combination of bioturbation and biodeposition activities or to anaerobic metabolism within the mollusk gut. This study demonstrates that a few, large individuals of this bivalve produce significant effects on aerobic and anaerobic benthic metabolism and nutrient mobilization. Random sediment sampling in turbid waters seldom catches these important effects due to low densities of large fauna.

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Acknowledgments

Paula Carpintero Moraes was supported by CNPq-Brasil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnologies, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy

    Sara Benelli & Elisa Anna Fano

  2. Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, Viale Usberti 33/A, 43124, Parma, Italy

    Marco Bartoli, Erica Racchetti & Paula Carpintero Moraes

  3. Marine Science and Technology Center, University of Klaipeda, H. Manto 84 st., 92294, Klaipeda, Lithuania

    Marco Bartoli, Mindaugas Zilius & Irma Lubiene

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  1. Sara Benelli
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  2. Marco Bartoli
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  3. Erica Racchetti
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  4. Paula Carpintero Moraes
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  5. Mindaugas Zilius
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Correspondence to Sara Benelli.

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Benelli, S., Bartoli, M., Racchetti, E. et al. Rare but large bivalves alter benthic respiration and nutrient recycling in riverine sediments. Aquat Ecol 51, 1–16 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-016-9590-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-016-9590-3

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