2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/22/2018 | 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM | INFLUENCE OF NATIVE FRESHWATER MUSSEL FUNCTIONAL TRAITS AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ON NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS IN BENTHIC SEDIMENTS | 420 A
INFLUENCE OF NATIVE FRESHWATER MUSSEL FUNCTIONAL TRAITS AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ON NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS IN BENTHIC SEDIMENTS
Unionid mussels are long-lived, filter-feeding organisms that thrive in dense, speciose aggregations in lotic ecosystems. Mussels are known to significantly influence benthic biogeochemical processes both directly (e.g. excretion) and indirectly due to their unique functional traits. We examined the indirect influence of native unionid mussel functional traits (total movement, burrowing depth, NH4+ excretion, egestion rate, egestion C:N) on nitrogen removal processes (denitrification, annamox) in a lowland river in the southeastern US. We hypothesized that mussels indirectly stimulate nitrogen removal in the benthos through the interaction of their functional traits with the biotic and abiotic characteristics of the surrounding sediment. To test our hypothesis, we employed a combination of ex situ chamber incubation experiments and an in situ density and community composition manipulation experiment. This multi-fold approach allowed us to model the biogeochemical influence of mussel functional traits on the individual- and community-scale, respectively. Our research adds to the growing knowledge of the functional role these important yet globally imperiled organisms play in freshwater ecosystems.
- Functional Ecology
- Sediment
- Hotspot
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Presenters/Authors
Zachary L. Nickerson
(), University of Alabama, znickerson8@gmail.com;
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Behzad Mortazavi
(), University of Alabama, bmortazavi@ua.edu ;
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Brian van Ee
(), University of Alabama, bcvanee@gmail.com;
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Carla Atkinson
(), The University of Alabama, carla.l.atkinson@ua.edu;
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