Abstract
The response of the benthos to the break up of anoxia in the Kiel Bight (Western Baltic Sea), and to three succeeding events of “external” food supply, consisting of a settled autumn plankton bloom, resuspended matter and macrophyte input during winter, and of a sedimented spring phytoplankton bloom, is described on a community level. The first input of oxygen broke up anoxic conditions and made stored food resources available to decomposition. This “internal” food supply, mainly consisting of protein (folin positive matter), was followed by a drastic increase in heat production and ATP-biomass and caused a period of low redox potential, which lasted for several weeks. During this phase, a plankton bloom (dinoflagellates and diatoms) settled to the sea floor. Although there was an immediate response of benthic activity, this food input was not completely consumed by the strongly disturbed benthic community. During winter resuspended matter and the input of macrophyte debris caused another maximum in benthic activity and biomass despite the low temperature. The response to sedimentation of cells from a diatom bloom during mid March was also without any time lag and was consumed within 5–6 wk. A comparison of the amount of particles collected in a sediment trap with the increase of organic matter in the sediment demonstrated that the sediment collected four times (autumn) and seven to eight times (spring) more than measured by the sediment trap. Strong indications of food limitation of benthic activity were found. During autumn and winter these indications were caused more by physical than by biological processes. The three events of “external” food supply caused a temporary shift in the type of metabolism towards fermentation processes and reduced the redox potential. In spring the development of the benthic community was still being strongly influenced by the events of the preceding summer and autumn.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literature cited
Arntz, W. E.: Zielsetzung und Probleme struktureller Benthosuntersuchungen in der marinen Ökosystemforschung. Verh. Gesellsch. Ökologie, 7, 35–51, Kiel (1978)
Arntz, W. E.: Zonation and dynamics of macrobenthos biomass in an area stressed by oxygen deficiency. In: Stress effects on natural ecosystems, pp 215–226. Ed. by G. W. Barrett and R. Rosenberg. New York: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1981
Arntz, W. E. and H. Rumohr: An experimental study of macrobenthic colonization and succession, and the importance of seasonal variation in temperate latitudes. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 64, 17–45 (1982)
Bengtsson, W.: Aktivität des Elektronen-Transport-Systems (ETS) und Wärmeproduktion mariner Sedimente. Ph. D. thesis, Kiel University, 127 pp. 1982
Bodungen, B. von: Der Jahresgang der Nährsalze und der Primärproduktion des Planktons in der Kieler Bucht unter Berücksichtigung der Hydrographie. Ph. D. thesis, Kiel University, 116 pp. 1975
Christensen, D. and T. H. Blackburn: Turnover of 14C-labelled acetate in marine sediments. Mar. Biol. 71, 113–119 (1982)
Edler, L.: Recommendation on methods for marine biological studies in the Baltic Sea. Phytoplankton and chlorophyll. Baltic mar. Biologist Publ. 5, 1–38 (1979)
Ehrhard, M. and A. Wenck: Wind pattern and hydrogen sulfide in shallow water of the Western Baltic Sea, a cause and effect relationship. Meeresforsch. (In press)
Fenchel, T. and T. H. Blackburn: Bacteria and mineral cycling, 225 pp. New York: Academic Press 1979
Graf, G., W. Bengtsson, U. Diesner, R. Schulz and H. Theede: Benthic response to sedimentation of a spring phytoplankton bloom: process and budget. Mar. Biol. 67, 201–208 (1982)
Graf, G., W. Bengtsson, A. Faubel, L.-A. Meyer-Reil, R. Schulz, H. Theede and H. Thiel: The importance of the spring phytoplankton bloom for the benthic system of the Kiel Bight. Rapp. Proc. Verb. (In press)
Hanson, R. B.: Organic nitrogen and caloric content of detritus. II. Microbial biomass and activity. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 14, 325–336 (1982)
Hargrave, B. T.: Coupling carbon flow through some pelagic and benthic communities. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 30, 1317–1326 (1973)
Hargrave, B. T.: Factors affecting the flux of organic matter to sediments in a marine bay. In: Marine benthic dynamics, pp 243–263. Ed. by K. R. Tenore and B. C. Coull. Columbia: Univ. South Carolina Press 1980
Hobro, R., U. Larsson and F. Wulff: Dynamics of a phytoplankton spring bloom in a coastal area of the Northern Baltic. As cited by Jansson, 1978
Ivlev, V. S.: Eine Mikromethode zur Bestimmung des Kaloriengehalts von Nährstoffen. Biochem. Zeitschr. 275, 51–55 (1934)
Jansson, B.-O.: The Baltic — a systems analysis of a semi-enclosed sea. In: Advances in oceanography, pp 131–183. Ed. by H. Charnock and G. Deacon. New York: Plenum Publishing Corporation 1978
Jørgensen, B. B. and T. Fenchel: The sulfur cycle of a marine sediment model system. Mar. Biol. 24, 189–201 (1974)
Kemp, W. M. and W. R. Boynton: External and internal factors regulating metabolic rates of an estuarine benthic community. Oecologia 51, 19–27 (1981)
Krey, J., J. Lenz and B. Babenerd: Beobachtungen zur Produktionsbiologie des Planktons in der Kieler Bucht: 1957–1975. Ber. Inst. Meeresk. Univ. Kiel Nr. 54 p. 113 (1978)
Kuipers, B. R., P. A. W. J. de Wilde and F. Creutzberg: Energy flow in a tidal flat ecosystem. Mar. Ecol Prog. Ser. 5, 215–221 (1981)
Meyer-Reil, L.-A.: Enzymatic decomposition of proteins and carbohydrates in marine sediments: methodology and field observations during spring. Kieler Meeresforsch. Sh. 5, 311–317 (1981)
Meyer-reil, L.-A.: Benthic response to sedimentation events during autumn to spring at a shallow-water station in the Western Kiel Bight: II. Analysis of benthic bacterial populations. Mar. Biol. (In press)
Packard, T. T., P. C. Garfield and R. Martinez: Respiration and respiratory enzyme activity in aerobic and anaerobic cultures of marine denitrifying bacterium, Pseudomonas perfectomarinus. Deep Sea Res. 30, 227–243 (1983)
Pamatmat, M. M.: Benthic community metabolism: a review and assessment of present status and outlook. In: Ecology of marine benthos, pp 89–111. Ed. by B. C. Coull. Columbia: Univ. South Carolina Press 1977
Pamatmat, M. M.: Heat production by sediment: ecological significance. Science, N.Y. 215, 395–397 (1982)
Pamatmat, M. M., G. Graf, W. Bengtsson and C. S. Novak: Heat production, ATP concentration and electron transport activity of marine sediments. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 4, 135–143 (1981)
Peinert, R., A. Saure, P. Stegmann, C. Stienen, H. Haardt and V. Smetacek: Dynamics of primary production and sedimentation in a coastal ecosystem. Neth. J. Sea Res. 16, 276–289 (1982)
Pollehne, F.: Die Sedimentation organischer Substanz, Remineralisation und Nährsalzrückführung in einem marinen Flachwasserökosystem. Ph. D. thesis, Kiel University, 149 pp. 1981
Reimers, T.: Anoxische Lebensräume: Struktur und Entwicklung der Mikrobiozönose an der Grenzfläche Meer/Meeresboden. Ph. D. thesis, Kiel University, 134 pp. 1976
Schomann, H.: Qualitative und quantitative Untersuchungen an der erranten Vegetationskomponente im Phytobenthos der Westlichen Ostsee. Ms. thesis, Kiel University, 90 pp. 1977
Schulz, R.: Die Wirkung von Sedimentationsereignissen auf die benthische Lebensgemeinschaft. Ph. D. thesis, Kiel University, 116 pp. 1983
Skjoldal, H. R. and C. Lännergren: The spring phytoplankton bloom in Lindaspollene, a land-locked Norwegian fjord. II. Biomass and activity of net- und nanoplankton. Mar. Biol. 47, 312–323 (1978)
Smetacek, V.: Die Sukzession des Phytoplanktons in der westlichen Kieler Bucht. Ph. D. thesis, Kiel University, 151 pp. 1975
Smetacek, V.: Annual cycle of sedimentation in relation to plankton ecology in western Kiel Bight. Ophelia 1, Suppl., 65–76 (1980)
Smetacek, V., K. v. Bröckel, B. Zeitzschel and W. Zenk: Sedimentation of particulate matter during a phytoplankton spring bloom in relation to the hydrographical regime. Mar. Biol. 47, 211–226 (1978)
Smetacek, V. and P. Hendrikson: Composition of particulate organic matter in Kiel Bight in relation to phytoplankton succession. Oceanol. Acta 2, 287–298 (1979)
Tabor, P. S. and R. A. Neihof: Improved method for determination of respiring individual microorganisms in natural waters. Appl. environ. Microbiol. 43, 1249–1255 (1982)
Walsh, J. J.: Shelf-sea ecosystems. In: Analysis of marine ecosystems, pp 159–196, Ed. by A. R. Longhurst. New York: Academic Press 1981
Webster, T. J. M., M. A. Paranjape and K. H. Mann: Sedimentation of organic matter in St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 32, 1399–1407 (1975)
Wiebe, P. H., St. H. Boyd and C. Winget: Particulate matter sinking to the deep-sea floor at 2 000 m in the tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas, with a description of a new sedimentation trap. J. mar. Res. 34, 341–354 (1976)
Wittstock, R. R.: Zu den Ursachen bodennaher Strömungsschwankungen in der nördlichen Kieler Bucht. Ph. D. thesis, Kiel University, 105 pp. 1982
Yingst, J. Y. and D. C. Rhoads: The role of bioturbation in the enhancement of microbial turnover rates in marine sediments. In: Marine benthic dynamics, pp 407–421. Ed. by K. R. Tenore and B. C. Coull. Columbia: Univ. South Carolina Press 1980
Zeitzschel, B., P. Diekmann and L. Uhlmann: A new multisample sediment trap. Mar. Biol. 45, 285–288 (1978)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg
Contribution No. 419 of the Joint Research Program of Kiel University (Sonderforschungsbereich 95 of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Graf, G., Schulz, R., Peinert, R. et al. Benthic response to sedimentation events during autumn to spring at a shallow-water station in the Western Kiel Bight. Mar. Biol. 77, 235–246 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395812
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395812