Title :

Strength May Lie in Numbers: Intertidal Foraminifera Non-Negligible Contribution to Surface Sediment Reworking

Author(s) :

Bouchet, Vincent [Auteur]
Seuront, Laurent [Auteur]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]

Journal title :

Open Journal of Marine Science

Pages :

131-140

Publisher :

Scientific Research Publishing

Publication date :

2020

ISSN :

2161-7384

English keyword(s) :

Benthic Foraminifera
Bioturbation
Surface Sediment Reworking Rate

English abstract : [en]

The contribution of benthic foraminifera to sediment bioturbation has widely been overlooked despite their huge abundance in intertidal soft sediments. In this preliminary study, we specifically chose to focus on ...
Show more >The contribution of benthic foraminifera to sediment bioturbation has widely been overlooked despite their huge abundance in intertidal soft sediments. In this preliminary study, we specifically chose to focus on two key species of benthic foraminifera in temperate intertidal mudflats, Quinqueloculina se-minula and Ammoniatepida, and first experimentally investigated their indi-vidual movements at the sediment surface. We subsequently derived from these observations the individual-level surface sediment reworking rates, and used the actual abundance of these species to extrapolate these rates at the population level. Individual surface sediment reworking rates SSRRiranged between 0.13 and 0.32 cm2∙ind−1∙day−1 forQ. seminula, and between 0.12 and 0.28 cm2∙ind−1∙day−1 for A. tepida. Population-level surface sediment rework-ing rates were subsequently estimated as ranging between 11,484 and 28,710 cm2∙m−2∙day−1 for Q. seminula and 27,876 and 65,044 cm2∙m−2∙day−1 for A. te-pida. Noticeably, these reworking rates are comparable to, and eventually even higher than, the rates reported in the literature for populations of inter-tidal macro-invertebrates, such as the annelid polychaeteMelinna palmataand the bivalve Abraovata. Taken together these results suggest that despite their minute size intertidal benthic foraminifera are, thanks to their abun-dance, non-negligible contributors to the reworking of surface sediment, and may then play an unanticipated role in the benthic ecosystem functioning, through e.g. the enhancement of fluxes at the sediment-water interface.Show less >

Language :

Anglais

Peer reviewed article :

Oui

Audience :

Internationale

Popular science :

Non

Collections :

• Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187

Source :

Harvested from HAL