Journal article
Coastal silicon cycling amplified by oyster aquaculture
Marine ecology. Progress series (Halstenbek), v 673, pp 29-41
02 Sep 2021
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Filter-feeders play an important role in regulating nutrient availability in coastal systems, with important implications for phytoplankton community composition, primary production, and food web structure. The role of filter-feeding bivalves in the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles is relatively well established, but their impact on coastal silicon (Si) cycling remains poorly understood. To help reduce this uncertainty, we quantified rates of Si recycling and the size of various Si pools at an oyster (Crassostrea virginica) farm. We found that oysters drive rapid recycling of dissolved Si (DSi) to the water column, primarily by altering rates of sediment Si flux. Sediments beneath oyster aquaculture recycled DSi to the water column at more than twice the rate (2476.06 mu mol DSi m(-2) h(-1)) of nearby bare sediments (998.75 mu mol DSi m(-2) h(-1)). Oysters consume DSi at a low rate (-0.06 mu mol DSi ind.(-1) h(-1)), and, while we were unable to determine the fate of that Si, we hypothesize that at least some of it may be stored in the shell and tissue, which are both small Si pools (0.55 and 0.13% Si by mass respectively). Si held in oysters is removed from the system when oysters are harvested, but this removal is small compared to oyster-mediated enhancements in sediment Si recycling. In a broader context, coastal systems with larger oyster populations are likely to have a more rapid Si cycle, with more Si available to primary producers in the water column than those with no oysters.
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Details
- Title
- Coastal silicon cycling amplified by oyster aquaculture
- Creators
- Nicholas E. Ray - Boston UniversityAlia N. Al-Haj - Boston UniversityTimothy J. Maguire - Boston UniversityMaria C. Henning - Boston UniversityRobinson W. Fulweiler - Boston University
- Publication Details
- Marine ecology. Progress series (Halstenbek), v 673, pp 29-41
- Publisher
- Inter-Research
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- Rhode Island Sea Grant award Boston University Boston University Graduate Fellowship through the Department of Biology
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Environmental Biogeochemistry
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000693696300003
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85118583446
- Other Identifier
- 991021903360004721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Marine & Freshwater Biology
- Oceanography