Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin

The heterogeneous topography of continental margins can influence patterns of resource availability and biodiversity in deep-sea sediments, potentially altering ecosystem functioning (e.g., organic matter remineralization). Noting a lack of studies that address the latter, we contrasted spatial patt...

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Autores principales:	Marta Miatta, Paul V. R. Snelgrove
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	organic matter benthic nutrient fluxes macrofauna biodiversity functioning submarine canyons Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/fdf3e53f34a047cfb50fc3f6a4f67886
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:fdf3e53f34a047cfb50fc3f6a4f678862021-12-01T02:35:06ZSedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin2296-774510.3389/fmars.2021.756054https://doaj.org/article/fdf3e53f34a047cfb50fc3f6a4f678862021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.756054/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745The heterogeneous topography of continental margins can influence patterns of resource availability and biodiversity in deep-sea sediments, potentially altering ecosystem functioning (e.g., organic matter remineralization). Noting a lack of studies that address the latter, we contrasted spatial patterns and drivers of benthic nutrient fluxes and multiple characteristics of macrofaunal communities in shelf, slope, canyon and inter-canyon sedimentary habitats along the Northwest Atlantic continental margin. Replicate sediment push cores were collected from 10 stations (229–996 m depth), incubated for ∼48 h to estimate fluxes of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphate, and silicate (as a measure of organic matter remineralization) and subsequently analyzed to characterize macrofaunal communities. We also considered various environmental factors, including sedimentary organic matter quantity and quality, and assessed their influence on fluxes and macrofauna. Comparatively high macrofaunal density and distinct community composition and trait expression characterized Georges Canyon, where elevated sedimentary organic matter suggested important lateral transport mechanisms along this canyon axis, with deposition of organic matter strongly affecting biological communities but not benthic nutrient fluxes. Lower penetration of macrofauna into the sediments, distinct community composition, biological traits, and higher nutrient flux rates characterized inter-canyon habitats compared to slope habitats at similar depths. Within inter-canyons, intermediate to low organic matter suggested hydrodynamic forces inhibiting organic matter deposition, affecting biological and functional processes. The input of fresh phytodetritus to the seafloor was the best predictor of macrofaunal density and diversity and contributed to variation in macrofaunal community composition and biological trait expression, together with latitude, depth, and other measures of organic matter quantity and quality. Benthic nutrient fluxes revealed complex variation, with disproportionate effects of few key macrofaunal taxa, together with bottom water oxygen concentration, and sediment granulometry. Our results suggest a relationship between resource availability and macrofaunal density, diversity, and taxonomic and trait composition, whereas organic matter remineralization exhibited a more complex response, which we suggest reflected variation in hydrodynamics and/or physical disturbance in heterogeneous continental margin habitats.Marta MiattaPaul V. R. SnelgrovePaul V. R. SnelgroveFrontiers Media S.A.articleorganic matterbenthic nutrient fluxesmacrofaunabiodiversityfunctioningsubmarine canyonsScienceQGeneral. Including nature conservation, geographical distributionQH1-199.5ENFrontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	organic matter benthic nutrient fluxes macrofauna biodiversity functioning submarine canyons Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
spellingShingle	organic matter benthic nutrient fluxes macrofauna biodiversity functioning submarine canyons Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Marta Miatta Paul V. R. Snelgrove Paul V. R. Snelgrove Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin
description	The heterogeneous topography of continental margins can influence patterns of resource availability and biodiversity in deep-sea sediments, potentially altering ecosystem functioning (e.g., organic matter remineralization). Noting a lack of studies that address the latter, we contrasted spatial patterns and drivers of benthic nutrient fluxes and multiple characteristics of macrofaunal communities in shelf, slope, canyon and inter-canyon sedimentary habitats along the Northwest Atlantic continental margin. Replicate sediment push cores were collected from 10 stations (229–996 m depth), incubated for ∼48 h to estimate fluxes of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphate, and silicate (as a measure of organic matter remineralization) and subsequently analyzed to characterize macrofaunal communities. We also considered various environmental factors, including sedimentary organic matter quantity and quality, and assessed their influence on fluxes and macrofauna. Comparatively high macrofaunal density and distinct community composition and trait expression characterized Georges Canyon, where elevated sedimentary organic matter suggested important lateral transport mechanisms along this canyon axis, with deposition of organic matter strongly affecting biological communities but not benthic nutrient fluxes. Lower penetration of macrofauna into the sediments, distinct community composition, biological traits, and higher nutrient flux rates characterized inter-canyon habitats compared to slope habitats at similar depths. Within inter-canyons, intermediate to low organic matter suggested hydrodynamic forces inhibiting organic matter deposition, affecting biological and functional processes. The input of fresh phytodetritus to the seafloor was the best predictor of macrofaunal density and diversity and contributed to variation in macrofaunal community composition and biological trait expression, together with latitude, depth, and other measures of organic matter quantity and quality. Benthic nutrient fluxes revealed complex variation, with disproportionate effects of few key macrofaunal taxa, together with bottom water oxygen concentration, and sediment granulometry. Our results suggest a relationship between resource availability and macrofaunal density, diversity, and taxonomic and trait composition, whereas organic matter remineralization exhibited a more complex response, which we suggest reflected variation in hydrodynamics and/or physical disturbance in heterogeneous continental margin habitats.
format	article
author	Marta Miatta Paul V. R. Snelgrove Paul V. R. Snelgrove
author_facet	Marta Miatta Paul V. R. Snelgrove Paul V. R. Snelgrove
author_sort	Marta Miatta
title	Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin
title_short	Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin
title_full	Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin
title_fullStr	Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin
title_full_unstemmed	Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin
title_sort	sedimentary organic matter shapes macrofaunal communities but not benthic nutrient fluxes in contrasting habitats along the northwest atlantic continental margin
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/fdf3e53f34a047cfb50fc3f6a4f67886
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Sedimentary Organic Matter Shapes Macrofaunal Communities but Not Benthic Nutrient Fluxes in Contrasting Habitats Along the Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin

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