Impact of lugworms (Arenicola marina) on mobilization and transport of fine particles and organic matter in marine sediments

Wendelboe, Kim; Egelund, Jonas T.; Flindt, Mogens; Valdemarsen, Thomas Bruun

doi:10.1016/j.seares.2012.10.013

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The particle composition of a certain type of sediment results from the net import and export of differently sized particles. Bioturbation represents only one of the processes mediating this equilibrium (Wendelboe et al, 2013). The contribution of hydrodynamics and fauna to sediment erosion may be different depending on the type of environment: low vs. high energy, low vs. high SSC, or cohesive vs. noncohesive sediment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At low water current velocities under the critical erosion threshold, sediment reworking by animals has negligible impact on erosion. At higher current velocities, however, suspended particles may be transported away by currents and thereby gradually change the sediment properties over time (Wendelboe et al, 2013). Moreover, the intensity of flow speed might initiate and enhance burrowing processes by cockles (St-Onge et al, 2007), which in turn may enhance sediment erodibility through the combined impact from burrowing clams and increased current speed.…”

Section: Cockle Bioturbation Effects On the Erodibility Of Cohesive Amentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of bioturbation on the erodibility of cohesive versus non-cohesive sediments along a current-velocity gradient: A case study on cockles

Cozzoli

Soissons

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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A B S T R A C TSoft-bottom bioturbators are ecosystem engineers in the sense that they can have considerable effects on sediment erodibility and resuspension. The common cockle Cerastoderma edule is a bioturbating filter feeder that is widespread along the European Atlantic coastline. Its presence and activity can decrease sediment erosion thresholds in cohesive sediments but little is known about its effect on non-cohesive sediments. Using controlled annular flume experiments, we investigated the relative effects of different cockle densities on sediment resuspension in cohesive vs. non-cohesive sediments by assessing the following: (i) the mud and sand burrowing behavior of cockles, (ii) critical erosion thresholds, (iii) the mass of eroded sediment and (iv) erosion rates. Our results show that cockles were more active in non-cohesive sediment compared with cohesive sediment. Despite their lower activity, the presence of cockles in cohesive sediment increased sediment erodibility by reducing the critical erosion threshold (U crit ) and increasing both the mass of eroded sediment and erosion rate. In contrast, cockles had no effect on erodibility in non-cohesive sediment, especially on the eroded sediment mass and erosion rate. The mass eroded was not significantly different between cohesive and non-cohesive sediments when cockles were present. Our experiments show that the increased erodibility of cohesive sediment due to the bioturbation by cockles is density dependent: higher cockle density results in stronger effects on erodibility. Moreover, this increase in cohesive sediment erosion due to cockle bioturbation was positively correlated with current velocity. In contrast, the erosion of non-cohesive sediment only depended on the current stress and was unaffected by cockle density. Considering the high abundance of C. edule, its widespread distribution and its extensive activities, the results of this study could be widely applicable to intertidal mud flats around the world.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cockle Bioturbation Effects On the Erodibility Of Cohesive Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of bioturbation on the erodibility of cohesive versus non-cohesive sediments along a current-velocity gradient: A case study on cockles

Cozzoli

Soissons

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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“…shown to modify the erodability of surrounding sediment, and therefore potential of postlarval resuspension compared to macrofauna free sediment (Andersen et al, 2010;Ciutat et al, 2007;Wendelboe et al, 2013). Our laboratory experiments to identify the causative processes for field observations cannot be considered conclusive, with the causative process possibly having complex interactions and difficult to replicate in the laboratory.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…For example abundances in microbes can increase (Lei et al, 2010), meiofauna have been shown to decrease (Reise, 1985), and some macrofauna species (Flach, 1992;Volkenborn et al, 2009) and halophytic plants (Van Wesenbeeck et al, 2007) that depend on more stable sediment appear or increase in density. These biological responses are often due to the loss of the feeding burrows affecting oxygen penetration and the associated sediment reworking (Reise, 1985;Wendelboe et al, 2013). Although a less active…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of macrofaunal disturbance on Cerastoderma edule post-larvae

Whitton

Jenkins

Richardson

et al. 2016

Journal of Sea Research

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Populations of the Common European cockle (Cerastoderma edule) often have highly patchy distributions and variable recruitment success. One of the proposed reasons is that high densities of filter feeders and / or bioturbators are thought to reduce the success of larval settlement and post-settlement survival, but the direct causal processes driving these observations are not clearly identified and validated. Through combined field and laboratory experiments, we test the hypothesis that macrofauna cause decreases in post-larval density through feeding and movement activities. The effect of excluding the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina and filter-feeding adult cockles on post-larval cockle densities was estimated in separate field experiments at two locations from the time of initial larval settlement in May 2012 to late summer August 2012. Lugworm exclusion led to a significant increase in cockle post-larval densities whereas the opposite was true for adult cockles, where exclusion led to a reduction in C. edule post-larval density. Although clear effects were observed in the field, experiments conducted in the laboratory failed to detect changes in mortality or byssus drifting of post-larvae as a consequence of macrofaunal activity. This study demonstrates that the presence of macrofauna can have both positive and negative effects on post-settlement density of C. edule post-larvae. Thus the density, distribution and identity of macrofauna have significant effects on the density and spatial distribution of C. edule post-larvae during the post-settlement period. These observations have implications for conservation and fishery management of this species.Keywords: Arenicola marina, Cerastoderma edule, interaction, post-larvae, cockle, settlement Highlights  The effect of macrofauna presence on colonisation of cockle post-larvae was tested.  Combined field and laboratory studies were used.

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“…On the other hand, they may promote the aggregation of specific species such as copepods, platyhelminths, nemertines and polychaete worms (Reise 2002). Lugworm activity does not only cause sediment instability, but may also change sediment properties such as particle composition, content of organic matter, sulphide concentrations and sediment permeability (Volkenborn and Reise 2006;Wendelboe et al 2013). Thus, sediment-mediated indirect effects may have similar importance for benthic species assemblages as the direct physical disturbance caused by A. marina.…”

Section: Effects and Occurrence Of Bioturbatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do bioturbation and consumption affect coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom communities?

et al. 2015

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Biotic factors such as bioturbation and predation affect abundance and species composition of marine soft-bottom communities from tropical to temperate regions, but their impact has been rarely investigated in Arctic coastal systems. By conducting a factorial manipulative field experiment, we excluded the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina and predacious consumers from a sedimentary nearshore area in Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen) for 70 days to explore their role in structuring the benthic community. The removal of A. marina caused an increase in average species number by 25 %, a doubling increase in the average number of individuals and an increase in dry mass of benthic organisms by, on average, 73 % in comparison with untreated areas. Additionally, community composition was significantly modified by lugworm exclusion resulting in higher average densities of the cumacean Lamprops fuscatus (4.2-fold), the polychaete worms Euchone analis (3.7-fold) and Pygospio cf. elegans (1.5-fold), the bivalve Crenella decussata (2.8-fold) and the amphipod Crassicorophium crassicorne (1.2-fold), which primarily contribute to the observed differences. Consumer exclusion, by contrast, showed no effects on the response variables. This result was independent from bioturbation due to missing interaction between both biotic factors. We conclude that present levels of bioturbation may considerably affect Arctic coastal soft-bottom communities. In contrast, predation by macro-epibenthic consumers currently seems to be of minor importance. This might change in a predicted warmer Arctic with assumed higher predator abundances and a northward expansion of boreal consumers.

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Impact of lugworms (Arenicola marina) on mobilization and transport of fine particles and organic matter in marine sediments

Cited by 31 publications

References 38 publications

Effects of bioturbation on the erodibility of cohesive versus non-cohesive sediments along a current-velocity gradient: A case study on cockles

Effects of bioturbation on the erodibility of cohesive versus non-cohesive sediments along a current-velocity gradient: A case study on cockles

The effect of macrofaunal disturbance on Cerastoderma edule post-larvae

Do bioturbation and consumption affect coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom communities?

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