Multiple sources of nutrients add to the complexities of predicting marine benthic community responses to enrichment
Allyson L. O’Brien A C , Liz Morris B and Michael J. Keough A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.
B Department of Primary Industries, PO Box 114, Queenscliff, Vic. 3225, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: allyson@unimelb.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 61(12) 1388-1398 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF10085
Submitted: 1 April 2010 Accepted: 5 August 2010 Published: 13 December 2010
Abstract
Understanding biological responses to nutrient enrichment under different environmental conditions is integral for the effective management of eutrophication in coastal environments. However, current conceptual models of nutrient enrichment are limited as they are based on studies that only consider a single source of nutrients, when in reality it is more likely that enrichment is a result of multiple sources. Here, we test the hypothesis that biological responses to nutrient enrichment in intertidal mudflat assemblages depend on the source by comparing enrichment from a controlled release fertilizer with that from decomposing macroalgae. Sediment at two sites in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, were dosed with the different nutrient sources and monitored through time. After six weeks, the macroalgae-enriched plots had significantly higher abundances and biomass of some taxa of deposit-feeding polychaetes. In the fertilizer-enriched plots, the porewater nutrients increased but there was no detectable change in abundances or biomass of infauna, suggesting that the nutrients did not assimilate into the foodweb. The rate of assimilation of anthropogenic nutrients potentially occurs over longer time scales compared with the rapid assimilation and biological responses to decomposing macroalgae. Responses to the different nutrient sources provide new insights into the complexity of nutrient enrichment models that are applied to the management of aquatic ecosystems worldwide.
Additional keywords: benthic, eutrophication, infauna, intertidal, Port Phillip Bay, soft sediments.
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