Feeding and bioturbation effects of the sand dollar Peronella lesueuri (L. Agassiz, 1841) (Echinodermata) on microphytobenthos and sediment fluxes |
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| Authors: | Baoquan Li John K. Keesing Martin Lourey James McLaughlin |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, CAS, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. Chinabqli@yic.ac.cn;3. Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, CAS, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China;4. Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research, CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Wembley, Australia;5. Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research, CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Wembley, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Respiration and excretion rates of a key bioturbating species, the sand dollar Peronella lesueuri, were measured in mesocosms at three different temperatures. Benthic oxygen and nutrient fluxes were additionally measured at winter and summer temperatures to assess the impact of P. lesueuri on ecosystem processes. Oxygen consumption by sand dollars increased significantly with wet weight at all three temperatures 16, 19, and 23 °C. Ammonia release also increased with body weight. The weight vs. oxygen uptake relationship was similar at 19 and 23 °C but oxygen uptake was significantly reduced at the lower exposure temperature. The bioturbation caused by sand dollar P. lesueuri reduced the photosynthetic rate of the microphytobenthos (MPBs) but had a much smaller and less obvious effect on nutrient fluxes across the sediment–water interface. |
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| Keywords: | Bioturbation sediment sand dollar Peronella lesueuri oxygen flux nutrient flux benthic metabolism |
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