The capacity for dissimilatory reduction of NO(3) to N(2) (N(2)O) and NH(4) was measured in NO(3)-amended marine sediment. Incubation with acetylene (7 x 10 atmospheres [normal]) caused accumulation of N(2)O in the sediment. The rate of N(2)O production equaled the rate of N(2) production in samples without acetylene. Complete inhibition of the reduction of N(2)O to N(2) suggests that the "acet...

This study tested the erosion mitigation effectiveness of agricultural straw and two wood-based mulches for four years on decommissioned forest roads. Plots were installed on the loosely consolidated, bare soil to measure sediment production, mulch cover, and plant regrowth. The experimental design was a repeated measures, randomized block on two soil types common in the northern Rocky Mountain...

Researchers have independently documented the effects of land use on rivers and threats to river management institutions, but the relationship between changes in institutional context and river condition is not well described. This study assesses the connections between resource management institutions, land use, and rivers by integrating social science, geospatial analysis, and geomorphology. ...

The effect of community structure on the functioning of the ecosystem is an important issue in ecology due to continuing global species loss. The influence of infaunal community structure on the functioning of marine systems is proposed here to act primarily through bioturbation of the sediment. Nutrient concentration in the water column, generated by release from the sediment, was used as a me...

Ecosystem engineering research has recently demonstrated the fundamental importance of non-trophic interactions for food-web structure. Particularly, by creating benign conditions in stressful environments, ecosystem engineers create hot beds of elevated levels of recruitment, growth, and survival of associated organisms; this should fuel food webs and promote production on the ecosystem scale....

Terrestrial runoff, resuspension events and dredging can affect filter-feeding sponges by elevating the concentration of suspended sediments, reducing light intensity, and smothering sponges with sediments. To investigate how sponges respond to pressures associated with increased sediment loads, the abundant and widely distributed Indo-Pacific species Ianthella basta was exposed to elevated sus...

Benthic primary producers play a key role in regulating carbon and nutrient turnover in shallow-water coastal areas. Macroalgal (MA) mats, which persist from months to over a year, consist of fast-growing filamentous or sheet-like algae on the sediment or floating at the water surface. Benthic microalgal mats (microphytobenthos, MPB), which occur throughout the year, are mostly dominated by dia...

Sedimentation in the sea occurs through natural processes, such as wave and tidal action, which can be exacerbated during storms and floods. Changes in terrestrial land use, marine aggregate extraction, dredging, drilling and mining are known to result in substantial sediment deposition. Research suggests that deposition will also occur due to the modern development of marine renewable energy. ...