Evaluating connections between nitrogen cycling and the macrofauna in native oyster beds in a New England estuary.

ABSTRACT: Recent efforts to quantify biogeochemical and ecological processes in oyster habitats have focused on provision of habitat and regulation of the nitrogen cycle. However, it is unclear how these two processes may interact. In this study, seasonal patterns of habitat use and nitrogen removal from natural oyster beds were quantified for comparison with nearby bare sediment in Green Hill Pond, a temperate coastal lagoon in Rhode Island USA. Relationships were tested between benthic macrofaunal abundance and nitrogen removal via denitrification and burial in sediments. Nitrogen removal by oyster bio-assimilation was quantified and compared with nearby oyster aquaculture. Despite limited differences in habitat use by macrofauna, there were fewer non-oyster benthic organisms (e.g., filter-feeders

SUBMITTER: Ayvazian SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8958940 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature