Abstract
The relationships between the biochemical composition of sediment organic matter and bacteria and microphytobenthic biomass distribution, were investigated along the coast of Northern Tuscany (Tyrrhenian Sea). Organic matter appeared to be of highly refractory composition. Among the three main biochemical classes, proteins were the major component (0.96 mg g-1 sediment d.w.) followed by total carbohydrates (0.81 mg g-1 sediment d.w.) and lipids (8.1 µg g-1 sediment d.w.). Bacterial number in surface sediments (0–2 cm) ranged from 1.7 to 24.5 × 108 cells g-1 of sediment dry weight showing a strong decrease with sediment depth. In surface sediments, significant correlations were found between bacterial biomass and protein concentration. Bacterial activity (measured by the frequency of dividing cells) was significantly related to lipid concentration. Bacterial and microphytobenthic biomass accounted for 3.1 and 18.1% respectively of the sediment organic carbon. In surface sediments bacterial lipids accounted, on average, for 27 % of total lipids, whereas bacterial proteins and carbohydrates accounted for 2.5 and 0.5% of total proteins and carbohydrates, respectively.
The benthic degradation process indicated that lipids were a highly degradable compound (about 35% in the top 10 cm). Carbohydrate decreased for 25.6% in the top 10 cm, whereas proteins increased with depth, thus indicating that this compound may resist to diagenetic decomposition.
These data suggest that specific organic compounds need to be measured rather than bulk carbon and nitrogen measurements in order to relate microbial biomass to the quality of organic matter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albertelli, G., M. Fabiano, R. Danovaro & S. Fraschetti, 1992. Bacteria and Macrofauna in different biocoenoses (Ligurian Sea). Atti IX Congr. A.I.O.L. 387–394.
Alongi, D. M., 1987. The distribution and composition of deep sea meiobenthos in a bathyal region of the western Coral Sea. Deep-Sea Res. 34: 1245–1254.
Alongi, D. M., 1990. Bacterial growth rates, production and estimates of detrital carbon utilization in deep-sea sediments of the Solomon and Coral Seas. Deep-Sea Res. 37: 731–746.
Alongi, D. M. & M. Pichon, 1988. Bathyal meiobenthos of the western Coral Sea: distribution and abundance in relation to microbial standing stocks and environmental factors. Deep-Sea Res. 35: 491–503.
Amon, R. M. W. & G. J. Herndl, 1991. Deposit feeding and sediment: I. Interrelationship between Holothuria tubulosa (Holothuroidea, Echinodermata) and the sediment microbial community. P.S.Z.N.I: Mar. Ecol. 12: 163–174.
Barlocher, F., J. Gordon & J. R. Ireland, 1988. Organic composition of seafoam and its digestion by Corophium volutator (Pallas). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 115: 179–186.
Basford, D. & A. Eleftheriou, 1988. The benthic environment of the North Sea (56° to 61°N). J. mar. Biol. U.K. 68: 125–141.
Bianchi, M. A. G. & A. J. M. Bianchi, 1982. Statistical sampling of bacterial strains and its use in bacterial diversity measurement. Microb. Ecol. 8: 61–69.
Bianchi T. S. & J. S. Levinton, 1984. The importance of microalgae, bacteria and particulate organic matter in the somatic growth of Hydrobia totteni. J. mar. Res. 42: 431–443.
Bligh, E. G. & W. Dyer, 1959. A rapid method for total lipid extraction and purification. Can. J. Biochem. Physiol. 37: 911–917.
Bratbak, G., 1985. Bacterial volume and biomass estimations. Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 49: 1488–1493.
Bretschko, G. & M. Leichtfried, 1987. The determination of organic matter in river sediments. Arch. Hydrobiol. Suppl. 68: 403–417.
Buchanan, J. B., 1971. Sediment. In N. A. Holme & A. D. McIntyre (eds), Methods for the study of marine benthos, Blackwell, Oxford: 30–52.
Buchanan, J. B. & M. R. Longbottom, 1970. The determination of organic matter in marine muds: the effect of the presence of coal and the routine determination of proteins. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 5: 158–169.
Calow, P., 1975. The feeding strategies of two fresh water gasteropods: Ancyclos fluviatilis Mull. and Planorbis contortui Linn. (Pulmonata) in terms of ingestion rates and absorption efficiencies. Oecologia (Berl.) 20: 33–4.
Cammen, L. M., 1980. The significance of microbial carbon in the nutrition of the deposit-feeding polychaete Nereis succinea. Mar. Biol. 61: 9–20.
Cammen, L. M., P. Rublee & J. Hobbie, 1978. The significance of microbial carbon in the nutrition of Nereis succinea and other aquatic deposit-feeders. Univ. North Carolina Sea Grant Publ. UNC-SG 78–12: 1–84.
Cough, M. A. & R. F. C. Mantoura, 1990. Advanced analytical methods for the characterization of macromolecular marine organic matter. In E. Hilf & D. Tuszynski (eds), Mass spectrometry of large non volatile molecules for marine organic chemistry. World Scientific, London.
Craig, D., R. J. Ireland & F. Barlocher, 1985. Seasonal variation in the organic composition of seafoam. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 130: 71–80.
Christian, R. R. & R. L. Wetzel, 1978. Interaction between substrate, microbes, and consumers of Spartina detritus in estuaries. In M. L. Wiley (ed.), Estuarine interactions. Academic Press, New York: 377–402.
Dale, N. G., 1974. Bacteria in intertidal sediments: Factors related to their distribution. Limnol. Oceanogr. 19: 509–517.
Danovaro, R. & M. Fabiano, 1990. Batteri, pigmenti clorofilliani, lipidi, protidi e carboidrati nel sedimento. Data Rep. Istituto Scienze Ambientali Marine 32: 1–15.
Danovaro, R., M. Fabiano & N. Della Croce, 1993. Labile organic matter and microbial biomasses in deep sea sediments (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Deep-Sea Res. 40: 953–965.
Daumas, R., D. Sautriot & D. Calmet, 1983. Evolution des constituants labiles de la matièe organique dans les sédiments profonds de diverses marges continentales. D'Orgon à Misedor. C.N.R.S. Paris (ed.), Géochimie organique des sédiments marins: 99–150.
De Flaun, M. F. & L. M. Mayer, 1983. Relationships between bacteria and grain surface in intertidal sediments. Limnol. Oceanogr. 28: 873–881.
Delille, D., L. D. Guidi & Cahet, 1990. Temporal variations of benthic bacterial microflora on the North Western Mediterranean continental shelf and slope P.S.Z.N.I. Mar. Ecol. 11: 105–115.
Fabiano, M., G. Alabisio, G. Mercenaro & O. Mazzotti, 1992. Analysis of organic matter in the water facing the river Arno estuary. Revue Int. Ocean. Med. 105–106: 62–70.
Fell, J. W., I. M. Master & S. Y. Newell, 1980. Laboratory model of potential role of fungi in the decomposition of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle L.) leaf litter. In K. R. Tenore & B. C. Coull (eds), Marine Benthic Dynamics, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia S.C.: 347–372.
Fichez, R., 1991. Composition and fate of organic matter in submarine cave sediments; implications for the biogeochemical cycle of organic carbon. Oceanol. Acta 14: 369–377.
Fry, J. C., 1987. Detritus and microbial ecology in aquaculture. In: D. J. W. Moriarty & R. S. V. Pullin (eds), ICLARM Conference Proceedings. 14: 83–122.
Fry, J. C., 1988. Determination of biomass. In B. Austin, J. Wiley & Sons Ltd. (eds), Meth. aquat. Bact.: 27–72.
Gerchacov, S. M. & P. G. Hatcher, 1972. Improved technique for analysis of carbohydrates in sediments. Limnol. Oceanogr. 17: 938–943.
Graf, G., R. Schulz, R. Peinert & L. A. Meyer-Reil, 1983. Benthic response to sedimentation events during autumn to spring at a shallow water station in Western Kiel Bay 1. Analysis of processes on a community level. Mar. Biol. 77: 235–246.
Graf, G. & L. A. Meyer-Reil, 1985. Remineralization of organic substances on benthic surfaces in the intertidal reef area off Mactan, Cebu, Philippines. The Philippine Scientist 22: 42–46.
Griffiths, R. P., S. S. Hayasaka, T. M. McNamara & R. Y. Morita, 1978. Relative microbial activity and bacteria concentrations in water and sediment samples taken in the Beaufort Sea. Can. J. Microbiol. 24: 1217–1226.
Hanson, R. B., 1980. Measuring microbial activity to assess detrital decay and utilization. In: K. R. Tenore & B. C. Coull (eds), Marine Benthic Dynamics, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia S.C.: 347–354.
Harrison, P. D. & K. H. Mann, 1975. Detritus formation from celgrass (Zoostera marina): the relative effects of fragmentation, leaching and decay. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20: 924–934.
Hartree, E. F., 1972. Determination of proteins: a modification of the Lowry method that give a linear photometric response. Anal.Biochem. 48: 422–427.
Herndl, G. L., P. Peduzzi & N. Fanuko, 1989. Benthic community metabolism and microbial dynamics in the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 53: 169–178.
Herndl, G., J. Faganeli, N. Fanuko, P. Peduzzi & V. Turk, 1987. Role of bacteria in the carbon and nitrogen flow between water-column and sediment in a shallow marine bay (Bay of Piran, Northern Adriatic Sea). P. S.Z.N.I. Mar. Ecol. 8: 221–236.
Johnson, R. G., 1977. Vertical variation in particulate organic matter in the upper twenty centimeters of marine sediments. J. Mar. Res. 35: 272–282.
Jonge, V.E. De, 1980. Fluctuations in the organic carbon to chlorophyll a ratios for estuarine benthic diatom populations. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2: 345–353.
Jonge, V. E. De, 1985. Occurrence of "epipsammic" diatoms populations: a result of interaction between physical sorting of sediment and certains properties of diatom species. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 21: 607–622.
Jonge, V. E. De & Van Den Bergs, 1987. Experiments on resuspension of estuarine sediments controlling benthic diatoms. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 24: 725–740.
Khripounoff, A., P. Crassous, D. Desbruyeres & J.-R. Le Cox, 1985. Le flux organique particulaire et ses transformations à l'interface eau-sediment. In L. Laubier & C. Monniot (eds), Peuplements profonds du Golfe de Gascogne, IFREMER Publications, Brest, France: 101–118.
Koop, K. & C. L. Griffiths, 1982. The relative significance of bacteria, meio- and macrofauna on an exposed sandy beach. Mar. Biol., 66: 295–300.
Liu, D., 1976. Carbohydrates in lake Ontario sediments. In J. E. Nriagu (ed.), Environmental biogeochemistry, Ann Arbor Science: 1852–190.
Lopez, G. R., L. S. Levinton & L. B. Slobodkin, 1977. The effects of grazing by the detritivore Orchestia grillus on Spartina litter and its associated microbial community. Oecologia (Berl.), 20: 111–127.
Lorenzen, C. & J. Jaffrey, 1980. Determination of chlorophyll in sea water. Unesco Technical Papers in Marine Science 35: 1–20.
Luria, S. E., J. S. Gould & S. Singer, 1981. A view of life, 806 pp. Menlo Park California: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co. Inc.
Marsh, J. B. & W. J. Weinstein, 1959. A simple charring method for determination of lipids. J. Lip. Res. 7: 574–576.
Meyer-Reil, L. A., 1983. 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. 77: 247–256.
Meyer-Reil, L. A., R. Dawson, G. Liebenzeit & H. Tiedge, 1978. Fluctuation and interactions of bacterial activity in sandy beach sediments and overlying waters. Mar. Biol. 48: 161–171.
Meyer-Reil, L. A., M. Bolter, R. Dawson, G. Liebenzeit, H. Szwerinski & K. Wolter, 1980: Interrelationships between microbiological and chemical parameters of sandy beach sediments, a summer aspect. Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 39: 797–802.
Meyer-Reil, L. A., W. Shramm & G. Wefer, 1981. Microbiology of a tropical coral reef system (Mactan; Philippines). Kieler Meeresforsch., Sonderheft 5: 431–432.
Mills, E. L., 1975. Benthic organisms and the structure of marine ecosystems. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 32: 1657–1663.
Montagna, P. A., 1982. Sampling design and enumeration statistics for bacteria extracted from marine sediments. Appl. envir. Microbiol. 43: 1366–1372.
Montagna, P. A., C. B. Coull, T. L. Herring & B. W. Dudley, 1983. The relationship between abundances of Meiofauna and their suspected microbial food (Diatoms and Bacteria). Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 17: 381–394.
Newell, R. C., 1965. The role of detritus in the nutrition of marine deposit feeders, the prosobranch Hydrobia ulvae the bivalve Macoma baltica. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 144: 25–45.
Newell, R. C. & J. G. Field, 1983. The contribution of bacteria and detritus to carbon and nitrogen flow in a benthic community. Mar. Biol. Letters 4: 23–36.
Oppenheimer, C. H. & C. E. ZoBell, 1952. The growth and viability of sixty-three species of marine bacteria as influenced by hydrostatic pressure. J. mar. Res. 11: 10–18.
Palumbo, R., Ferguson & P. A. Rublee, 1984. Size of suspended bacterial cells and association of heterotrophic activity with size fractions of particles in estuarine and coastal waters. Appl. envir. Microbiol. 48: 157–164.
Parker, J. G., 1983. A comparison of methods used for the measurement of organic matter in marine sediment. Chem. Ecol. 1: 201–210.
Plante-Cuny, M. R. & R. Plante, 1986. Benthic marine diatoms as food for benthic marine animals. In Proc. 8th Symp. Recent. Fos. Diatoms, M. Ricard & O. Koeltz (eds), Koenigstein: 525–537.
Plante, R., M. R. Plante-Cuny & J. P. Reys, 1986. Photosynthetic pigments of sandy sediments on the north Mediterranean coast: their spatial distribution and its effect on sampling strategies. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 34: 133–141.
Rice, D. L., 1982. The detritus nitrogen problem: new observations and perspectives from organic geochemistry. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 9: 153–162.
Rice, D. L. & K. R. Tenore, 1981. Dynamics of carbon and nitrogen during the decomposition of detritus derived from estuarine macrophytes. Estuar. coast. Shelf. Sc. 13: 681–690.
Sandstrom, M. W., F. Tirendi & A. Nott, 1986. Direct determination of organic carbon in modern reef sediment and calcareous organisms after dissolution of carbonate. Mar. Geol. 70: 321–329.
Sargent, J. R., C. C. E. Hopkins, J. V. Seiring & A. Youngson, 1983. Partial characterization of organic material in surface sediments from Balsfjorden, nothern Norway, in relation to its origin and nutritional value for sediment-ingesting animals. Mar. Biol. 76: 87–94.
Tacon, A. G. & P. N. Ferns, 1978/79: Activated sewage sludge, a potential animal foodstuff. I. Proximate and mineral content: seasonal variation. Agriculture Envir., Amsterdam (Elsevier) 4: 257–269.
Tanoue, E. & N. Handa, 1987. Monosaccharide composition of marine particles and sediments from the Bering Sea and North Pacific. Oceanol. Acta 10: 91–99.
Tenore, K. R., 1975. Detrital utilization by the polychaete Capitella capitata. J. mar. Res. 33: 261–274.
Tenore, K. R., 1977. Differential availability of aged detritus from different sources to the polychaete, Capitella capitata. Mar. Biol. 44: 51–55.
Tenore, K. R., L. Cammen, S. E. G. Findlay & N. Phillips, 1982. Perspectives of research on detritus: do factors controlling the availability of detritus to macroconsumers depend on its source? J. mar. Res. 40: 473–489.
Tunnicliffe, V. & M. J. Risk, 1977. Relationships between the bivalve Macoma baltica and bacteria in inter-tidal sediments: Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy. J. mar. Res. 35: 499–507.
Weise, W. & G. Reinheimer, 1979. Scanning electron microscopy and epifluorescence investigation of bacterial colonization of marine sediments. Microb. Ecol. 4: 175–188.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fabiano, M., Danovaro, R. Composition of organic matter in sediments facing a river estuary (Tyrrhenian Sea): relationships with bacteria and microphytobenthic biomass. Hydrobiologia 277, 71–84 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00016755
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00016755