The effects of temperature on oxygen uptake and nutrient flux in sediment inhabited by molluscs

Benthic invertebrates play important roles in oxygen uptake and nutrient cycling in the benthic boundary layer. Temperature is an important factor that influences both invertebrate activity and the effects of the bioturbation on biogeochemistry. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of temperature on the sediment oxygen uptake and nutrient flux across the sediment-water interface in sediment inhabited by molluscs, animals that often dominate the benthic community. A microcosm was constructed using sediment, lake water, and molluscs from Lake Taihu, China. The clam Corbicula fluminea (Bivalvia: Corbiculidae) and the snail Bellamya aeruginosa (Gastropoda: Viviparidae) were selected for the experiment because they dominate the benthic community in the lake. The effect of C. fluminea and B. aeruginosa on sediment oxygen uptake and nutrient flux was simultaneously examined at both 15 and 25℃. The results indicated that C. fluminea significantly increased the sediment oxygen uptake and release of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and ammonium from the sediment to the overlying water at both temperatures, and the net sediment oxygen uptake, and the net SRP and ammonium fluxes caused by the clams were significantly higher at 25℃ than at 15℃. Moreover, B. aeruginosa significantly increased the sediment oxygen uptake at the two experimental temperatures, however the net sediment oxygen uptake induced by the snail did not differ significantly between 15 and 25℃. The SRP released from the sediment was stimulated significantly by B. aeruginosa at 25℃, and B. aeruginosa also produced significantly more net SRP release at 25℃ than that at 15℃. In contrast, the influence of B. aeruginosa on the net ammonium flux at each temperature was not statistically significant.