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Recolonisation by Macrobenthos Mobilises Organic Phosphorus from Reoxidised Baltic Sea Sediments

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Abstract

In recent decades, eutrophication has increased the extent of hypoxic and anoxic conditions in many coastal marine environments. In such conditions, the nutrient flux across the sediment–water interface is a key process controlling the biogeochemical dynamics, and thereby the level and character of biological production. In some areas, management attempts to drive the ecosystem towards phosphorus (P) limitation, which calls for reliable knowledge on the mechanisms controlling P-cycling. We report a well-controlled laboratory experiment on benthic fluxes of P, when shifting from a state of hypoxic and azoic sediments to oxic and zoic bottom conditions. Adding any of three types of macrobenthic fauna (mysid shrimp, pontoporeid amphipod and tellinid clam) to oxygenated aquarium sections resulted in benthic P fluxes that differed consistently from the azoic control sections. All species caused liberation of dissolved organically bound P (DOP) from the sediment, in contrast to the azoic systems. The shrimp and the amphipod also resuspended the sediment, which resulted in a release of P bound to particles (>0.45 μm). Dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) was released during hypoxic conditions, but was taken up after oxygenation, irrespective of the presence or absence of bottom fauna. In the presence of fauna, the uptake of DIP roughly equalled the release of DOP, suggesting that the benthic efflux of DOP following oxygenation and bottom fauna (re)colonisation might be considerable. This is an hitherto overlooked animal-controlled nutrient flux, which is missing from coastal marine P budgets.

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Acknowledgments

The Tvärminne Zoological Station provided excellent laboratory facilities and a generous atmosphere. We are grateful to the staff of the Chemical Laboratory at the Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, for skilful determination of different P fractions. Ragnar Elmgren provided constructive comments and linguistic improvements. The Stockholm University Marine Research Centre subsidised ship time. ML received a grant from the Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck Foundation. This study is a contribution from the BOX project, which is financially supported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Financial support was also provided to PH by the EU through the FP7 project HYPOX. Finally, PH sincerely enjoyed and benefited from the years of scientific collaboration with Bjørn Sundby. Those years were special. The topics of this paper, P-cycling and bioturbation, are among the favourite research themes of Bjørn, and we dedicate this paper to him.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Nils Ekeroth & Sven Blomqvist

  2. Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, J.A. Palméns väg 260, 109 00, Hangö, Finland

    Magnus Lindström

  3. Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, Marine Chemistry, University of Gothenburg, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Per O. J. Hall

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  1. Nils Ekeroth
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Correspondence to Nils Ekeroth.

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Ekeroth, N., Lindström, M., Blomqvist, S. et al. Recolonisation by Macrobenthos Mobilises Organic Phosphorus from Reoxidised Baltic Sea Sediments. Aquat Geochem 18, 499–513 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-012-9172-5

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