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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Salt marsh pore water geochemistry does not correlate with microbial community structure
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Volume 62, No. 1-2, Year 2005
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Description
Spatial and temporal trends in pore water geochemistry and sediment microbial community structure are compared at three intertidal sites of a saltmarsh on Sapelo Island, GA. The sites include a heavily bioturbated, unvegetated creek bank, a levee with dense growth of Spartina alterniflora, and a more sparsely vegetated ponded marsh site. The redox chemistry of the pore waters ranges from sulfide-dominated at the ponded marsh site to suboxic at the creek bank site. At the three sites, the vertical redox stratification of the pore waters is more compressed in summer than in winter. The trends in redox chemistry reflect opposing effects of sediment respiration and pore water irrigation. Intense and deep burrowing activity by fiddler crabs at the creek bank site results in the efficient oxidation of reduced byproducts of microbial metabolism and, hence, the persistence of suboxic conditions to depths of 50 cm below the sediment surface. Increased supply of labile organic substrates at the vegetated sites promotes microbial degradation processes, leading to sharper redox gradients. At the levee site, this is partly offset by the higher density and deeper penetration of roots and macrofaunal burrows. Surprisingly, the microbial community structure shows little correlation with the variable vertical redox zonation of the pore waters across the saltmarsh. At the three sites, the highest population densities of aerobic microorganisms, iron- plus manganese-reducing bacteria, and sulfate reducers coexist within the upper 10 cm of sediment. The absence of a clear vertical separation of these microorganisms is ascribed to the high supply of labile organic matter and intense mixing of the topmost sediment via bioturbation. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Van Cappellen, Philippe
United States, Atlanta
Georgia Institute of Technology
Kostka, Joel E.
United States, Savannah
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
Roychoudhury, Alakendra N.
United States, Atlanta
Georgia Institute of Technology
Viollier, Eric
United States, Atlanta
Georgia Institute of Technology
Statistics
Citations: 85
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.ecss.2004.09.001
ISSN:
02727714
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study