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 ...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, <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Quinqueloculina seminula</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Ammonia</span></i> <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">tepida</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">, and first experimentally investigated their individual 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 </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">SSRR</span><sub><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">i</span></sub></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> ranged between 0.13 and 0.32 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;"><sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">ind</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:8.33333px;"><sup>-1</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span> <span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">for</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:;" "=""> <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Q. seminula</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">, and between 0.12 and 0.28 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">ind<sup>-1</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> for </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">A. tepida</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">. Population-level surface sediment reworking rates were subsequently estimated as ranging between 11,484 and 28,710 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">m<sup>-2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> for </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Q. seminula</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and 27,876 and 65,044 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">m<sup>-2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> for </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">A. tepida</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">. Noticeably, these reworking rates are comparable to, and eventually even higher than, the rates reported in the literature for populations of intertidal macro-invertebrates, such as the annelid polychaete </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Melinna palmata</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and the bivalve </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Abra</span></i> <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">ovata</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">. Taken together these results suggest that despite their minute size intertidal benthic foraminifera are, thanks to their abundance, 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.</span></span>展开更多
文摘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, <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Quinqueloculina seminula</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Ammonia</span></i> <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">tepida</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">, and first experimentally investigated their individual 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 </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">SSRR</span><sub><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">i</span></sub></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> ranged between 0.13 and 0.32 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;"><sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">ind</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:8.33333px;"><sup>-1</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span> <span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">for</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:;" "=""> <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Q. seminula</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">, and between 0.12 and 0.28 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">ind<sup>-1</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> for </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">A. tepida</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">. Population-level surface sediment reworking rates were subsequently estimated as ranging between 11,484 and 28,710 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">m<sup>-2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> for </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Q. seminula</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and 27,876 and 65,044 cm<sup>2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">m<sup>-2</sup><span style="white-space:nowrap;">·</span></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">day<sup>-1</sup></span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> for </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">A. tepida</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">. Noticeably, these reworking rates are comparable to, and eventually even higher than, the rates reported in the literature for populations of intertidal macro-invertebrates, such as the annelid polychaete </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Melinna palmata</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and the bivalve </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Abra</span></i> <i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">ovata</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">. Taken together these results suggest that despite their minute size intertidal benthic foraminifera are, thanks to their abundance, 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.</span></span>