Mediation of nitrogen by post-disturbance shelf communities experiencing organic matter enrichment.

ABSTRACT: Microbes and benthic macro-invertebrates interact in sediments to play a major role in the biogeochemical cycling of organic matter, but the extent to which their contributions are modified following natural and anthropogenic changes has received little attention. Here, we investigate how nitrogen transformations, ascertained from changes in archaeal and bacterial N-cycling microbes and water macronutrient concentrations ([NH₄-N], [NO₂-N], [NO₃-N]), in sand and sandy mud sediments differ when macrofaunal communities that have previously experienced contrasting levels of chronic fishing disturbance are exposed to organic matter enrichment. We find that differences in macrofaunal community structure related to differences in fishing activity affect the capaci

SUBMITTER: Sciberras M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6961516 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature