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Pascal L, Chaillou G, Nozais C, Cool J, Bernatchez P, Letourneux K, Archambault P. Benthos response to nutrient enrichment and functional consequences in coastal ecosystems. Mar Environ Res 2022; 175:105584. [PMID: 35168006 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
As land use intensifies, many coastal waters are becoming enriched with otherwise limiting nutrients, leading to eutrophication. While the extreme effects of eutrophication on benthic communities are well documented, there is still a lack of knowledge about how nutrient enrichment alters biogeochemical interactions occurring at the sediment-water interface. Using ex-situ experiments, this study explores the consequences of nutrient enrichment on sediment characteristics, macrofauna community and benthic fluxes. The quantity of sedimentary organic matter and porewater concentration of NH4+, NOx and PO43- increased in enriched treatments. These changes did not affect the macrobenthic community structure. However, macroinfauna buried less deep and increased their ventilation activity. As consequences, nutrient efflux increased, thereby favouring eutrophication processes. These effects were reduced in presence of seagrass, thus illustrating the buffering capacity of seagrass in the context of environmental changes, and particularly, of eutrophication. Overall, this study highlights that the functional consequences of nutrient enrichment involve interconnected processes that are variable in space and time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Pascal
- Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Québec-Océan, Canada Research Chair in Geochemistry of Coastal Hydrogeosystems, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec, G5L 3A1, Canada.
| | - Gwénaëlle Chaillou
- Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Québec-Océan, Canada Research Chair in Geochemistry of Coastal Hydrogeosystems, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Christian Nozais
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Québec-Océan, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Joannie Cool
- Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Québec-Océan, Canada Research Chair in Geochemistry of Coastal Hydrogeosystems, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Pascal Bernatchez
- Research Chair in Coastal Geoscience, Québec-Océan, Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Kevin Letourneux
- Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Québec-Océan, Canada Research Chair in Geochemistry of Coastal Hydrogeosystems, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Philippe Archambault
- ArcticNet, Québec-Océan, Département de biologie, Université Laval, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
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