The influence of lime and biological activity on sediment pH,redox and phosphorous dynamics

The addition of powdered limestone to intact sediment cores from oligotrophic, acid Lake Hovvatn caused pH to increase, redox potential (E₇) to drop, and permitted net precipitation of phosphorous (P) from the water column. Significant pH increase was found to a sediment depth of 6 cm and a maximum increase in pH from 4.9 to 6.5 was found at a depth of 0.5 cm when dosed with 36 g m^–2 of lime. Such pH increase creates important changes in sediment equilibrium chemistry and enhances habitat suitability. In the case of Hovvatn, however, sediments would consume only 5 kg of the 91 tons of applied limestone. Superficial sediments remained oxidized, but below 0.5 cm, E₇ in limed sediment declined significantly more than in unlimed sediments, with a maximum difference of 102 mV versus –66 mV at a depth of 6 cm in unlimed and limed cores, respectively. Abiotic reactions account for 82 ± 54% of this reduction and the remainder is due to the oxidation of organic matter by bacteria. Precipitation of CaSO₄, reduction of the sediments by organic compounds at elevated pH and inhibition of the downward diffusion of O₂ by the limestone powder are potential abiotic mechanisms which could drive E₇ down. Enhanced P release was not found at lowered E₇, and supernatent TP concentrations dropped from 11.7 to 4.4 µg P l^–1. More P was swept from solution in cores which recieved larger lime doses. The presence of chironomids caused sediment pH to increase by as much as 1.2 pH units, presumably due to NH₄ release, reduced sediment E₇ by as much as 171 mV and facilitated TP release during the first 17 d of core incubation. Field measurements of vertical distributions of sediment pH and E₇ before and after the liming of Hovvtn corroborated laboratory findings.     

High resolution vertical profiles of pH in recent sediments

High resolution (0.1 cm sampling interval) profiles of pH were obtained from some recent estuarine (Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay) and freshwater (Lake Erie) sediments and from laboratory microcosms containing homogenized Lake Erie sediment (both with and without tubificid oligochaetes) by incrementally precessing a micro-pH electrode downward through the sediment. These profiles revealed that hydrogen ion undergoes chemical reactions on a scale smaller than can be resolved using classic 1 cm sampling intervals, and that the vertical distribution of hydrogen ion is affected by bioturbation. In all sediments examined, a local pH minimum occurred immediately below the oxidized zone. In estuarine sediments, a second deeper pH minimum was observed. The presence of tubificids prevented profound pH changes from developing in microcosm sediments treated with a layer of activated sewage sludge and resulted in more modest alterations of pH profile in microcosm sediments lacking such a layer. The technique used in this study is by no means limited to pH. In principal, any chemical species that can be directly determined by electrodes (e.g. O₂, S^-2) may be studied. Microelectrode techniques could be especially useful in the study of chemical gradients around animal burrows and in time series studies of whole core diagenesis.     

Distributional Patterns of Diatoms and Limnodrilus Oligochaetes in a Kenyan Dry Streambed Following the 1999–2000 Drought Conditions

Drought is a natural phenomenon experienced by many intermittent and also seasonal lotic systems. It has diverse effects on the structure and distribution of biological communities through habitat transition from wetted to terrestrial conditions. The Njoro River, a tropical stream, was drought‐stressed between late 1999 and mid 2000, providing an opportunity to sample and describe the distributional patterns of diatoms and Limnodrilus oligochaetes in the vertical sediment profile. The dispersion of Limnodrilus oligochaetes with sediment depth profile varied from quasi‐random (i.e. exponent k of the negative binomial distribution >2.0 or <0) at the surface to strong aggregation (0 < k < 1.0) in the deeper sediments. Diatoms were heterogenous, with most species contributing less than 1% of all the diatoms collected from the riverbed. Contagious dispersion was a common feature among the diatom species. The distribution of Fragilaria ulna was largely quasi‐random in all sites, with Nitzschia amphibia and Cocconeis placentula demonstrating quasi‐random distribution in the Kerma vertical sediment profile. Escape from stranding to deeper sediment strata as the drought progressed was not a universal response among the diatom species. Our results showed that drought‐stress altered the structure of biological assemblages and also emphasized the need for the management of tropical lotic systems and their catchments for flow permanence. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Investigations on the ecophysiology of Geleia nigriceps Kahl (Ciliophora,Gymnostomata) inhabiting a sandy beach in Bermuda

Summary The dominant ciliate species Geleia nigriceps inhabiting a sheltered beach in Bermuda was characterized by its horizontal and vertical distribution on the beach in correlation with sediment composition and grain size, temperature, pH, oxygen, redox potential, and water coverage, its tolerance of high and low temperature under normoxic and oligoxic conditions, and its tolerance of extreme pH-values.From tolerance experiments it can be concluded that G. nigriceps is able to tolerate relatively high temperatures (up to 37.3°C) for only short time (e.g., when low tide occurs around noon on hot days).This species, inhabiting both the oxidized and the reduced milieu below the redox potential discontinuity layer of the beach, is only to a small degree dependent upon oxygen availability and can be regarded as a more or less habitual dweller of anoxic or oligoxic sediments. The functions relating LT₅₀ and exposure time were almost identical for normoxic and oligoxic conditions.Tolerance experiments revealed that pH values from 8.2 to 9.6 present no obstacle to G. nigriceps in its occupation of the upper millimeters of the sediment. In addition, it could be demonstrated that pO₂ has no effect on the tolerance of alkaline conditions.The vertical pattern of distribution of G. nigriceps correlated with water coverage during one period of outgoing tide suggests vertical migration. The upper sediment layer is more densely colonized than the lower ones at stations where water coverage exceeds 45%. A highly significant correlation exists between the population density of the upper centimeter and water coverage.Contribution No. 724 from the Bermuda Biological Station for Research     

In situ study of short-term variations of redox species chemistry in intertidal permeable sediments of the Arcachon lagoon

We investigated the composition of porewaters in intertidal sediments in response to the diurnal rise and fall of tides. For this reason, we deployed an in situ voltammetric system to measure vertical distribution and time-series at defined depths of O₂, Mn(II), Fe(II), and S(?II) in the porewater of permeable sediments from a protected beach in the Arcachon Bay. We also report microprofiles of O₂ and pH together with sediment properties (organic carbon, particulate reactive manganese and iron, porosity and permeability). Results shows that the oxygen dynamics in the upper sediment at low tide appeared to be mainly controlled by microphytobenthos activity, which may migrate downward just before immersion. The tidal forcing seemed to influence the oxygen dynamic in a minor way through flushing of the uppermost sediment porewater layer at the beginning and end of immersion. Vertical profiles and time-series measurements showed that the distributions of reduced species varied with tides. Although this work reveals that the upper sediment layer was subject to redox changes, the response of vertical distributions of redox species to tidal and night?Cday cycles did not have a cyclic pattern.     

象山港网箱养殖区沉积物的古菌空间分布

对象山港网箱养殖区及其周边沉积物中古菌群落的空间分布进行研究,应用基于16S rRNA基因的T-RFLP(末端限制性片段多态性分析)技术分析象山港网箱养殖区及其周边不同深度沉积物中古菌的群落结构和多样性,并构建克隆文库进行系统发育学分析。测定沉积物各项理化因子,通过PCA和RDA分析了古菌群落分布及其与环境因子之间的关系。结果表明,泉古菌是港口沉积物中的优势古菌群,占古菌群落的50%以上。网箱养殖区沉积物的古菌群落结构较非养殖区简单,多样性降低。非养殖区古菌群落随深度呈现有规律的变化。营养盐类和pH是造成养殖区域古菌群落结构区别于非养殖区域的主要环境因素。     

Nitrogen transformations at the sediment–water interface across redox gradients in the Laurentian Great Lakes

The capacity of a lake to remove reactive nitrogen (N) through denitrification has important implications both for the lake and for downstream ecosystems. In large oligotropic lakes such as Lake Superior, where nitrate (NO₃ ^?) concentrations have increased steadily over the past century, deep oxygen penetration into sediments may limit the denitrification rates. We tested the hypothesis that the position of the redox gradient in lake sediments affects denitrification by measuring net N-fluxes across the sediment–water interface for intact sediment cores collected across a range of sediment oxycline values from nearshore and offshore sites in Lake Superior, as well as sites in Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Across this redox gradient, as the thickness of the oxygenated sediment layer increased from Lake Erie to Lake Superior, fluxes of NH₄ ⁺ and N₂ out of the sediment decreased, and sediments shifted from a net sink to a net source of NO₃ ^?. Denitrification of NO₃ ^? from overlying water decreased with thickness of the oxygenated sediment layer. Our results indicate that, unlike sediments from Lake Erie and Lake Huron, Lake Superior sediments do not remove significant amounts of water column NO₃ ^? through denitrification, likely as a result of the thick oxygenated sediment layer.     

Why and where do oligochaetes hide their cocoons?

In Mondsee, a prealpine lake of Austria, abundance and vertical distribution of oligochaetes were investigated at four different depths (5, 10, 20 and 40 m). Adult oligochaetes and cocoons were found to be almost always absent in the uppermost centimeters of sediment. A hypothesis was developed that predation by fish is one factor, among others, inducing the observed vertical distribution patterns. In the laboratory the predation efficiency of the fish Abramis brama decreased with increasing sediment cover over the cocoons. Tolerance limits of embryonic worms to anaerobic conditions (LC 50 values) were found to differ for different developmental stages, ranging from 28 hrs for eggs to 43 hrs for fully developed embryos. Oxygen uptake rates of oligochaete embryos increased with their stages of development, eggs using 1.51 and fully developed embryos 3.32 nl O₂/ind./h (10°C).     

Assessment of the spatial variability of intertidal benthic communities by axial tomodensitometry: importance of fine-scale heterogeneity

At the water-sediment interface of aquatic ecosystems, the presence of biogenic structures produced by benthic invertebrates strongly affects biogeochemical processes. The quantification of these structures and the assessment of the vertical distribution of fauna are essential for determining the impact of communities in sediments. In the present study, computer axial tomodensitometry (CAT-scan) was used to measure the space occupied by an intertidal community of the St. Lawrence estuary. Three cores were sampled at a site that was considered homogeneous according to surface sediments. The vertical distribution of biogenic structures and gravel were measured in the three cores using CAT-scan; the vertical distribution of fauna was also analysed for each core. The biogenic structures were highest at the water-sediment interface and decreased with depth in the three cores. The number of invertebrates also decreased with depth. We observed similar distributions of biogenic structures in cores 1 and 2. However, fewer biogenic structures were observed below 90 mm in core 3. This result was correlated with a high quantity of gravel from 90 to 140 mm in core 3 whereas the other cores had lower quantities of coarse material. We found relationships among the distributions of biogenic structures, fauna, and sediment characteristics (gravel quantity) that can affect species distribution. The vertical distributions of Macoma balthica, Mya arenaria, Nereis virens, and small-sized gallery-producing species (nematodes and oligochaetes) could also be recorded with the CAT-scan method. Thus, CAT-scan is an excellent tool to determine the fine-scale heterogeneity in the space occupied by benthic invertebrates in sediments.     

Characterization of depth-related bacterial communities and their relationships with the environmental factors in the river sediments

To better understand the bacterial processes in river sediments, it is necessary to investigate the depth-related bacterial communities in the whole sediment profile. Sediment samples were collected to a depth of 25 cm from the Pearl River. Bacterial abundance, activity, cell-specific respiration rate, and diversity were measured, respectively, by 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole direct count, 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) staining, electron transport system by CTC reduction, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of 16S rRNA amplification fragments. Results showed that the bacterial metabolism activities decreased with the sediment depth. The total bacterial abundance was highest in the surface sediment with 65.1 × 10⁷ cells g⁻¹, and decreased to 11.1 × 10⁷ cells g⁻¹ below 20 cm in the sample location that suffered from heavy sewage inputs. The active bacteria accounted for 7.50–46.7% of the total bacterial number and decreased with the sediment depth. Electron transport system by the CTC reduction showed that bacterial respiration rate declined from 1.093 μmol CTC-formazan h⁻¹ g⁻¹ in the surface sediment to a half in the bottom sediment, while the cell-specific respiration increased significantly with the depth from 3.56 to 93.75 fmol CTC-formazan cell⁻¹. The bacterial diversity also changed with the depth. Beta-Proteobacteria were the dominant species in the surface sediment, whereas Delta-Proteobacteria were the main species below 10 cm. Results of canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the distribution of bacteria was affected by the combined effect of various dissolved inorganic matter, while the respiration rate was independent of the nutrient conditions. The specific bacterial distribution contributed to not only the nutrient cycle but also enhanced pollutant decomposition in sediment of the Pearl River. The results showed that some specific bacterial species had a strong activity in the deeper layers. Therefore, the metabolic functions of the deeper bacterial species should not be neglected.     

2004年春季长江口海域甲藻孢囊的分布研究

于2004年4月初,采集长江口(E122°～123°30',N29°～32°)10个站点0～15cm底泥样品,研究甲藻孢囊在这10个站点的水平和垂直分布情况。在30个样品中共鉴定出6大类24种甲藻孢囊。孢囊组成以异养型原多甲藻类孢囊为主,有13种,平均密度为157cysts·g^-1DW,为调查海域的最优势种群。两种产麻痹性贝类毒素(Paralytic shellfish poisoning,PSP)的孢囊,塔玛亚历山大藻和链状裸甲藻,在海区分布广泛但数量较低。10个站点甲藻孢囊的种类数在11～18种之间,平均密度为189～846cysts·g^-1DW,在远离河口的D6站点有一个明显的最高峰,位于最北部的D1站点孢囊密度最低。与其它海湾相比,属于孢囊密度较低的海区。Shannon-Weaver生物多样性指数(H')变化范围在2.57～3.27之间。甲藻孢囊的密度分布与生物多样性相关系数r=-0.72。3个不同深度的甲藻孢囊密度分别为351cysts·g^-1DW、412cysts·g^-1DW、432cysts·g^-1DW;生物多样性指数分别为3.22、2.95、2.98。     

Microbial community structure in hadal sediments: high similarity along trench axes and strong changes along redox gradients

Hadal trench sediments are hotspots of biogeochemical activity in the deep sea, but the biogeochemical and ecological factors that shape benthic hadal microbial communities remain unknown. Here, we sampled ten hadal sites from two trench regions with a vertical resolution of down to 1 cm. We sequenced 16S rRNA gene amplicons using universal and archaea-specific primer sets and compared the results to biogeochemical parameters. Despite bathymetric and depositional heterogeneity we found a high similarity of microbial communities within each of the two trench axes, while composition at the phylum level varied strongly with sediment depth in conjunction with the redox stratification into oxic, nitrogenous, and ferruginous zones. As a result, communities of a given sediment horizon were more similar to each other across a distance of hundreds of kilometers within each trench, than to those of adjacent horizons from the same sites separated only by centimeters. Total organic carbon content statistically only explained a small part of the variation within and between trenches, and did not explain the community differences observed between the hadal and adjacent shallower sites. Anaerobic taxa increased in abundance at the top of the ferruginous zone, seeded by organisms deposited at the sediment surface and surviving burial through the upper redox zones. While an influence of other potential factors such as geographic isolation, hydrostatic pressure, and non-steady state depositional regimes could not be discerned, redox stratification and diagenesis appear to be the main selective forces that structure community composition in hadal sediments.Subject terms: Water microbiology, Microbial ecology, Microbiome, Biogeochemistry, Biogeochemistry     

Influence of sediment organic enrichment and water alkalinity on growth of aquatic isoetid and elodeid plants

1. Lake eutrophication has increased phytoplankton blooms and sediment organic matter. Among higher plants, small, oligotrophic rosette species (isoetids) have disappeared, while a few tall, eutrophic species (elodeids) may have persisted. Despite recent reduction of nutrient loading in restored lakes, the vegetation has rarely regained its former composition and coverage. Patterns of recovery may depend on local alkalinity because HCO₃^? stimulates photosynthesis of elodeids and not of isoetids. In laboratory growth experiments with two isoetids (Lobelia dortmanna and Littorella uniflora) and two elodeids (Potamogeton crispus and P. perfoliatus), we test whether organic enrichment of lake sediments has a long‐lasting influence by: (i) reducing plant growth because of oxygen stress on plant roots and (ii) inhibiting growth more for isoetids than elodeids. We also test whether (iii) increasing alkalinity (from 0.17 to 3.20 meq. L^?1) enhances growth and reduces inhibition of organic sediment enrichment for elodeids but not for isoetids. 2. In low organic sediments, higher oxygen release from roots of isoetids than elodeids generated oxic conditions to greater sediment depth for Lobelia (4.3 cm) and Littorella (3.0 cm) than for Potamogeton species (1.6–2.2 cm). Sediment oxygen penetration depth fell rapidly to 0.4–1.0 cm for all four species at even modest organic enrichment and oxygen consumption in the sediments. Roots became shorter and isoetid roots became thicker to better supply oxygen to apical meristems. 3. Growth of elodeids was strongly inhibited across all levels of organic enrichment of sediments being eight‐fold lower at the highest enrichment compared to the unenriched control. Leaf biomass of isoetids increased three‐fold by moderate organic enrichment presumably because of greater CO₂ supply from sediments being their main CO₂ source. At higher organic enrichment, isoetid biomass was reduced, leaf chlorophyll declined up to 10‐fold, root length declined from 7 to <2 cm and mortality rose (up to 50%) signalling high plant stress. 4. Lobelia was not affected by HCO₃^? addition in accordance with its use of sediment CO₂. Biomass of elodeids increased severalfold by rising alkalinity from 0.17 to 3.20 meq. L^?1 in accordance with their use of HCO₃^? for photosynthesis, while the negative impact of organically enriched sediments remained. 5. Overall, root development of all four species was so strongly restricted in sediments enriched with labile organic matter that plants if growing in situ may lose root anchorage. Other experiments demonstrate that this risk is enhanced by greater water content and reduced consolidation in organically rich sediments. Therefore, formation of more muddy and oxygen‐demanding sediments during eutrophication will impede plant recovery in restored lakes while high local alkalinity will help elodeid recovery.     

Vertical distribution and abundance of gymnamoebae (Rhizopoda) in bottom sediments of the brackish water Nivå Bay (Baltic Sea,The Sound)

The sandy sediments of Niv? Bay (Baltic Sea, The Sound, Denmark) are often covered with the mats of sulphur bacteria and are temporarily anoxic. The vertical distribution and abundance of naked amoebae species in three sediment cores from this bay were studied. Amoebae were most abundant and diverse in the upper 1 cm of sediment, and their number and diversity decreased with increasing depth into the sediment. Amoebae were recovered from both upper oxygenated and deep anoxic layers of sediments. The species composition and abundance of amoebae was very heterogeneous, even at spatial scales of several centimeters, suggesting the existence of microhabitats selectively occupied by particular species. All species found were recorded from aerobic cultures and some of these amoebae occur in both the aerobic and anaerobic layers of the sediment. Minimal possible number of amoebae in the sediments, estimated for the first time as areal abundance integrated for depth was: core 1 -597 cm(-2); core 2 -1,110 cm(-2); core 3 -1,430 cm(-2). These abundances are probably best regarded as "potential" abundances of amoebae hidden in the sediments, as the question of the ratio between active and resting amoebae remains open.     

The influence of water quality and sediment geochemistry on the horizontal and vertical distribution of phosphorus and nitrogen in sediments of a large,shallow lake

Distinct horizontal water column concentration gradients of nutrients and chlorophyll a (Chl a) occur within large, shallow, eutrophic Lake Taihu, China. Concentrations are high in the north, where some of the major polluted tributaries enter the lake, and relatively low in the south, where macrophytes generally are abundant. It is not clear, however, whether these water column concentration gradients are similarly reflected in spatial heterogeneity of nutrient concentrations within the bottom sediments. The main objective of this study was therefore to test if horizontal and vertical variations in the phosphorus and nitrogen content in bottom sediments of Lake Taihu are significantly related to (1) horizontal variations in overlying water column nutrient concentrations and (2) other sediment geochemical constituents. We measured the concentration of total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) in surficial sediments (0–2 cm) and TP, TN and Chl a concentrations in water column samples, collected from 32 sites in 2005. In 2006 sediment, TP, TN, carbon, iron and manganese concentrations were measured vertically at 2 cm intervals, extending to a depth of approximately 20 cm, at an additional eight sites. Linear correlation analysis revealed that surficial sediment TP concentrations across the 32 stations were related significantly, though weakly, to annual mean water column concentrations of TP, TN as well as Chl a. Correlations of surficial sediment TN with water column variables were, however, not significant (P > 0.05). Amongst the geochemical variables tested, the vertical variability of sediment TP concentrations was most strongly related to sediment manganese and carbon concentrations. A multiple stepwise linear regression revealed that the combination of sediment manganese and carbon concentrations explained 91% of the horizontal variability in sediment TP concentrations and 65% of the vertical variability. Handling editor: Luigi Naselli-Flores     

The effect of organic pollution on the abundance and distribution of aquatic oligochaetes in an urban water basin, Taiwan

Aquatic oligochaetes are abundant in polluted areas and are, therefore, commonly used as bioindicators to study organic pollution in rivers and streams. In order to develop a species-level oligochaete biotic index to reflect the River Pollution Index (RPI) in the Taichung Water Basin in Taiwan, we conducted a systematic sampling scheme to collect aquatic oligochaetes from the sediment samples of watercourses in the Taichung Water Basin, Taiwan. We evaluated the relationships between aquatic oligochaetes and the sewage pollution using statistical methods. The distribution of aquatic oligochaetes in relation to environmental variables, such as water quality and sediment characteristics of the regional urban contaminated streams was expressed by Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). We identified 17 species of aquatic oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) including 3 species of Tubificidae, 13 species of Naididae, and 1 species of Enchytraeidae from the watercourses of an urban region in the Taichung Water Basin in Taiwan, during the summer and winter of 2005 and 2006. A positive correlation was found between the total abundance of aquatic oligochaetes and the RPI (r = 0.58, P < 0.05). However, only population density of the most abundant tubificid, Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, increased with increasing RPI values and a significantly negative correlation was found between the population density of the naidid, Nais communis, and RPI values. The results of CCA indicated that certain naidids, such as Aulophorus furcatus and Allonais gwaliorensis also tolerated extremely polluted environments in upper stream or stony habitats, implying that tubificids should not be the sole representation of simple biotic indices but should also include pollution-tolerant naidids. We found that the community structure of aquatic oligochaetes was influenced by short-term variations in microhabitat rather than according to seasonal factors in our study region. The results proved that aquatic oligochaetes were sensitive enough to provide a supplement for the regional urban pollution assessment applications for biotic indicators at the species-level.     

Seasonal Vertical Migration and Aestivation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhyacodrilus hiemalis</Emphasis> (Tubificidae,Clitellata) in the Sediment of Lake Biwa,Japan

The vertical distribution of the tubificid worm Rhyacodrilus hiemalis Ohtaka, the numerically dominant species of oligochaete in the littoral of Lake Biwa, was studied with special reference to seasonal vertical migration in the lake sediment. Monthly collections of lake sediment cores were made using PVC tubes. Core sections of sample sediments ranged from 76 to 117 cm. The vertical distribution of the worms showed no diurnal variation; therefore diel vertical migration was not evident. Seasonal downward migration started in April, and upward migration started in October. From December to March, almost all worms remained in the near-surface sediment layer (surface to 30 cm deep), while from July to September almost all worms remained deeper than 30 cm. However, few individuals migrated deeper than 90 cm. No discontinuous layers were found in grain size composition, water content, loss on ignition, particulate carbon, nitrogen or phosphorus. In deep sediment there was no free oxygen, as evidenced by negative ORP values. For 4 months in summer, R. hiemalis aestivated, probably utilizing anaerobic respiration. It appeared that R. hiemalis moved deeper in the sediment in response to sediment temperature, because sediment temperatures in the deep layers seemed to converge at around 20–21 °C in the summer months. The life history traits of seasonal vertical migration and summer aestivation perhaps arose as an adaptation to the climatic conditions accompanying the geographical origin of R. hiemalis, and they also serve to minimize predation risk during summer when most invertebrate predatory fishes are active.     

Sediment Enzyme Activities and Microbial Community Diversity in an Oligotrophic Drinking Water Reservoir,Eastern China

Drinking water reservoir plays a vital role in the security of urban water supply, yet little is known about microbial community diversity harbored in the sediment of this oligotrophic freshwater environmental ecosystem. In the present study, integrating community level physiological profiles (CLPPs), nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and clone sequence technologies, we examined the sediment urease and protease activities, bacterial community functional diversity, genetic diversity of bacterial and fungal communities in sediments from six sampling sites of Zhou cun drinking water reservoir, eastern China. The results showed that sediment urease activity was markedly distinct along the sites, ranged from 2.48 to 11.81 mg NH₃-N/(g·24h). The highest average well color development (AWCD) was found in site C, indicating the highest metabolic activity of heterotrophic bacterial community. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed tremendous differences in the functional (metabolic) diversity patterns of the sediment bacterial communities from different sites. Meanwhile, DGGE fingerprints also indicated spatial changes of genetic diversity of sediment bacterial and fungal communities. The sequence BLAST analysis of all the sediment samples found that Comamonas sp. was the dominant bacterial species harbored in site A. Alternaria alternate, Allomyces macrogynus and Rhizophydium sp. were most commonly detected fungal species in sediments of the Zhou cun drinking water reservoir. The results from this work provide new insights about the heterogeneity of sediment microbial community metabolic activity and genetic diversity in the oligotrophic drinking water reservoir.     

Some aspects of the ecophysiology of Tubificoides benedii and ultrastructural observations on endocuticular bacteria

Tubificoides benedii is regularly found in sulphide-rich sediments with extremely low oxygen tensions and can tolerate anaerobic conditions for several days. Although the anaerobic energy production of marine invertebrates has been well studied, almost nothing is known about the anaerobic metabolism of marine oligochaetes. Preliminary results after measuring end-products during anaerobic incubation show that in contrast to all previously examined marine facultative anaerobe invertebrates T. benedii degrades malate during anaerobiosis. Also, the concentration of free amino acids is extremely low for a marine organism. Low levels of free amino acids could be concomitant with malate utilization: the utilization of the amino acid aspartate (as observed in all other examined marine invertebrates) seems to be excluded by the low concentrations of aspartate and other amino acids in T. benedii.The physiological lab studies were supplemented by ecological investigations in the field and laboratory on the vertical distribution of T. benedii. 90% of the population was always found within the first few cm below the sediment surface. Aquarium observations showed that the posterior end of the worm projects above the sediment surface, where it slowly waves back and forth. This behavior points towards an intestinal respiration. The described orientation, an intestinal respiration and anaerobic energy production could be advantageous in sulphide-rich sediments where O₂ only penetrates a few mm into the sediment. The worm can easily inhabit the first three to four cm by holding its tail in the upper oxygenated sediment and water. Here it would be able to feed on the rich quantities of bacteria at the anoxic-oxic interface and yet still keep up an aerobic metabolism. In addition, its ability to produce energy anaerobically would allow T. benedii to dwell in deeper anoxic sediments for limited periods of time or to survive complete O₂ absence that could develop during low tide.The posterior ends of T. benedii found in a sulphide-rich habitat in the German Wadden Sea were covered with filamentous epibacteria (Dubilier, 1986). Electron microscopy showed that the bacteria were anchored in the cuticle. The association is apparently not pathogenic whereas positive forms of interaction can be envisioned.     

The depth distribution of Oligochaeta in an Irish quaking marsh

The depth distribution of oligochaetes was studied in a quaking marsh at Tinure, Co. Louth, Ireland. The dominant plants were grasses which formed a fibrous mat floating on semi-liquid peat. The water level remained near the surface except for a few weeks in winter and early spring when up to 50% surface cover of water was seen. Depth profiles of pH and redox potential showed seasonal variations with the anaerobic layer approaching the surface in summer. Oligochaetes were the most important group of invertebrates and were represented by 7 species of Naididae, 7 Tubificidae, 2 Lumbriculidae, 13 Enchytraeidae and 1 Lumbricidae. Lumbricids and most species of Enchytraeidae were concentrated at the surface but the enchytraeids Marionina riparia, Cernosvitoviella spp. and Cognettia glandulosa were frequent in the anaerobic layer. Aquatic oligochaetes were most numerous below the surface. Tubificids penetrated further than other groups and reached a peak at 4–6 cm. The effects of lowering the water level were studied in pot cultures where water was maintained at 4 different levels. Enchytraeids always remained near the surface, while aquatic oligochaetes concentrated nearer the water level. It is concluded that enchytraeids are prevented from colonizing most freshwater habitats by their inability to tolerate extended periods of anoxia.