Spatial and temporal variability of organic matter sources and food web structure across benthic habitats in a low diversity system (southern Baltic Sea)

Ziółkowska, Marcelina; Sokołowski, Adam; Richard, Pierre

doi:10.1016/j.seares.2018.05.007

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Sedimentary organic matter is main diet component especially for surface detritus feeders and subsurface detritus feeders (burrowers), including mussels, gastropods, crustaceans and oligochaetes. It is also an important source of nutrition for consumers with flexible feeding strategy, especially in winter when availability of food is limited (Zaborska et al 2018;Ziółkowska et al 2018). In the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, sedimentary organic matter is abundant with plankton or diatom detritus (Jędruch et al 2017;Winogradow and Pempowiak 2018;Witak et al 2020), while in the areas with the large benthic vegetation, the sediments also contained a lot of degraded vascular plants and macroalgal detritus (Jankowska et al 2018;Ziółkowska et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also an important source of nutrition for consumers with flexible feeding strategy, especially in winter when availability of food is limited (Zaborska et al 2018;Ziółkowska et al 2018). In the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, sedimentary organic matter is abundant with plankton or diatom detritus (Jędruch et al 2017;Winogradow and Pempowiak 2018;Witak et al 2020), while in the areas with the large benthic vegetation, the sediments also contained a lot of degraded vascular plants and macroalgal detritus (Jankowska et al 2018;Ziółkowska et al 2018). In the depositional areas of the Baltic Sea, such as Gdańsk Deep or Gotland Deep, the contribution of the autochthonous organic matter decreases in favour of terrestrial matter, especially in the deeper layers of the sediments (Szczepańska et al 2012;Winogradow and Pempkowiak 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Kwasigroch

Bełdowska

Jędruch

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The study aimed to determine the level of mercury (Hg) and its labile and stable forms in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea. The work considers the impact of current and historical sources of Hg on sediment pollution, together with the influence of different environmental parameters, including water inflows from the North Sea. Surface sediments (top 5 cm) were collected in 2016–2017 at 91 stations located in different areas of the Baltic Sea, including Belt Sea, Arkona Basin, Bornholm Basin, Gdańsk Basin, West Gotland Basin, East Gotland Basin, and the Bothnian Sea. Besides, the particulate matter suspended in the surface and near-bottom water was also collected. The analysis of total Hg concentration and individual Hg forms in collected samples was carried out using a 5-step thermodesorption method. This method allows for the identification of three labile and thus biologically available, fractions of Hg, which are mercury halides, organic Hg, mercury oxide and sulphate. Two stable fractions, mercury sulphide and residual Hg, were also determined. The highest Hg concentrations, reaching 341 ng g−1, were measured in the highly industrialised Kiel Bay, which was additionally a munition dumping site during and after World War II. High Hg level, ranging from 228 to 255 ng g−1, was also recorded in the surface sediments of the Arkona Basin, which was a result of the cumulative effect of several factors, such as deposition of Hg-rich riverine matter, favourable hydrodynamic conditions and military activities in the past. The relatively elevated Hg concentrations, varying from 60 to 264 ng g−1, were found in the Gdańsk Basin, a region under strong anthropopressure and dominated by soft sediments. The sum of labile Hg in sediments was high and averaged 67% (with the domination of organic Hg compounds), which means that a large part of Hg can be released to the water column. It was found that the water inflows from the North Sea intensify the remobilisation of Hg and its transformation into bioavailable labile forms. As a consequence, the load of Hg introduced into the trophic chain can increase. Despite the significant reduction of Hg emission into the Baltic in the last decades, surface sediments can be an important secondary Hg source in the marine ecosystem. This is especially dangerous in the case of the western Baltic Sea.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Kwasigroch

Bełdowska

Jędruch

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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“…Finally, in line with previous facilitation cascade studies, the abundance of filter feeders was not affected by epiphytes (Gribben et al., 2017; Hughes et al., 2014; Lemieux & Cusson, 2014). These organisms, feeding on suspended organic matter or phytoplankton from the water column (Kharlamenko et al., 2001; Marcelina et al., 2018), are more influenced by variations in planktonic food availability, mainly due to water movements (Levinton, 1972), rather than food sources mediated by habitat‐formers (e.g. increased live or decaying plant tissue).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive cascading effects of epiphytes enhance the persistence of a habitat‐forming macroalga and the biodiversity of the associated invertebrate community under increasing stress

et al. 2020

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Enhanced persistence of stress sensitive species in harsh environments due to amelioration of physical stress by habitat‐forming species has been widely documented. By contrast, less attention has been given to positive species interactions that may enhance stress tolerance in habitat‐forming species, with positive cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. We used a combination of field surveys and experiments to assess the effects of the epiphyte Jania rubens, on its subtidal macroalgal host Halopithys incurva, and their cascading effects on the associated invertebrate community, along a depth gradient associated with increasing stress (i.e. light stress at shallower depths). Correlative studies showed that the biomass and photosynthetic efficiency of H. incurva increased with depth, along with a decrease of epiphyte biomass. The experimental manipulation of epiphytes (removal in shallow water and addition in deep water) revealed that their effects on H. incurva physiology varied from positive in shallow habitats to negative in deep habitats. These results suggest that reduction of light/UV stress by J. rubens allows H. incurva to persist in shallow‐water habitats that would be otherwise unsuitable. In addition, colonization by large clumps of J. rubens increased the abundance and diversity of associated invertebrates in shallow habitat, suggesting that positive feedbacks between H. incurva, acting as the primary habitat‐former, and J. rubens, acting as a secondary habitat‐former, generate a facilitation cascade. Synthesis. Our study suggests that the persistence of some habitat‐forming species and their ability to support biodiversity may rely upon physical stress reduction by other species (e.g. epiphytes in our case) that are generally neglected when planning conservation strategies. A deeper understanding of context dependency in positive species interactions is essential for predicting patterns of species distribution under increasingly stressful climate scenarios.

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Section: Preservation and Pre-treatment Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Puck lagoon that estimated 29% and 37% contribution of SOM to L. balthica diet during spring (Marcelina et al, 2018). Marcelina et al (2018) preserved their samples by freezing and also acidified samples prior to SIA. Consequently, we suggest that the contribution of SOM might be overestimated in their study and the development of a mathematical correction for SIs for frozen samples, similar to the existing corrections for formalin preservation, might seem advisable.…”

Section: Preservation and Pre-treatment Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sample preservation and pre-treatment in stable isotope analysis: Implications for the study of aquatic food webs

Silberberger

Koziorowska-Makuch

Kuliński

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. Stable isotope analysis has become one of the most widely used techniques in ecology. However, uncertainties about the effects of sample preservation and pre-treatment on the ecological interpretation of stable isotope data and especially on Bayesian stable isotope mixing models remain. Here, Bayesian mixing models were used to study how three different preservation methods (drying, freezing, formalin) and two pre-treatments (acidification, lipid removal) affect the estimation of diet composition for two benthic invertebrate species (Limecola balthica, Crangon crangon). Furthermore, commonly used mathematical lipid normalization and formalin correction were applied to check if they improve the model results. Preservation effects were strong on model outcomes for frozen as well as formalin preserved L. balthica samples, but not for C. crangon. Pre-treatment effects varied with species and preservation method and neither lipid normalization nor mathematical formalin correction consistently resulted in improved model outcomes. Our analysis highlights that particularly small changes in δ15N introduced by different preservation and pre-treatments display a so far unrecognized source of error in stable isotope studies. We conclude that mathematical correction of stable isotopes data should be avoided for Bayesian mixing models and that previously unaddressed effects of sample preservation (especially those arising from preservation by freezing) have potentially biased our understanding of the utilization of organic matter in aquatic food webs.

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Spatial and temporal variability of organic matter sources and food web structure across benthic habitats in a low diversity system (southern Baltic Sea)

Cited by 24 publications

References 52 publications

Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea

Positive cascading effects of epiphytes enhance the persistence of a habitat‐forming macroalga and the biodiversity of the associated invertebrate community under increasing stress

Sample preservation and pre-treatment in stable isotope analysis: Implications for the study of aquatic food webs

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