IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v316y2015icp155-167.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modelling the effect of Cerastoderma edule bioturbation on microphytobenthos resuspension towards the planktonic food web of estuarine ecosystem

Author

Listed:
  • Rakotomalala, Christiane
  • Grangeré, Karine
  • Ubertini, Martin
  • Forêt, Martin
  • Orvain, Francis

Abstract

Microphytobenthos (MPB) represents an important food source for primary consumers in estuarine ecosystems and the availability of MPB as food items results from complex physical, chemical, and biological interactions. In Baie des Veys (Lower Normandy, France), the common cockle Cerastoderma edule constitutes the major bioturbator in the ecosystem in terms of biomass. In this ecosystem, cockle bioturbation is a key process regulating the MPB erosion flux in the water column. This bivalve intensely modifies the top layer of the sediment by increasing the sediment erodibility and the fluxes of suspended chlorophyll a through the valve movements. More precisely, cockle bioturbation destabilizes the sediment surface by creating a biogenic layer that is easily eroded with tidal hydrodynamic forces. Associated MPB can then be exported to the water column to fuel higher trophic levels of the planktonic food web. The aim of this study was to develop a numerical model that reproduces the export of MPB associated to the biogenic layer erosion. Kinetics of suspended MPB, in response to increasing stress, were obtained from flume experiments in lab controlled conditions and in situ natural conditions. Following this, the suspended MPB were analyzed to respectively parameterize the model by (1) a calibration approach, and (2) an independent validation. The analysis has highlighted that the higher the biomass of cockles, the higher the MPB resuspension rates. Our model consistently reproduces the tendency encountered in laboratory analysis and with in situ natural conditions. During the validation, a small site-specific lack of adjustment was identified, but, among the macrozoobenthic community, the model can be significantly improved by considering the bioturbation activities of another ecosystem engineer, Pygospio elegans. This study thus provides reliable estimates of the daily food availability from benthic primary consumers in an estuarine system where cockles dominate the bioturbating assemblage. This model can be inserted in various model designs (0D, 1D-vertical or 3D).

Suggested Citation

  • Rakotomalala, Christiane & Grangeré, Karine & Ubertini, Martin & Forêt, Martin & Orvain, Francis, 2015. "Modelling the effect of Cerastoderma edule bioturbation on microphytobenthos resuspension towards the planktonic food web of estuarine ecosystem," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 316(C), pages 155-167.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:316:y:2015:i:c:p:155-167
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.08.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380015003737
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.08.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guarini, Jean-Marc & Sari, Nadir & Moritz, Charlotte, 2008. "Modelling the dynamics of the microalgal biomass in semi-enclosed shallow-water ecosystems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 211(3), pages 267-278.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hochard, Sébastien & Pinazo, Christel & Grenz, Christian & Evans, Jessica L. Burton & Pringault, Olivier, 2010. "Impact of microphytobenthos on the sediment biogeochemical cycles: A modeling approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(13), pages 1687-1701.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:316:y:2015:i:c:p:155-167. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.