Credit: Ayushi Kachhara NIWA 2018

Academic publication

Porewater nutrient enrichment alters benthic-pelagic coupling on intertidal sandflats

Gladstone-Gallagher, R. V., Mangan, S., Thrush, S. F., & Pilditch, C. A. (2020) Journal of Sea Research

Highlights

Estuary eutrophication can affect both top-down and bottom-up ecological processes.
We elevated sediment porewater nitrogen to test effects on microphytobenthos and grazers.
Nitrogen enrichment doubled benthic microphyte biomass and altered macrofauna communities.
Enrichment effects did not alter sediment erosion threshold or rate.
Erosion of nitrogen-enriched sediment released substantial nutrients and chlorophyll a.

Keywords

Sediment stability, Erosion, Resuspension, Marine, Estuary, Eutrophication

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Tipping points in ecosystem structure, function and services

We investigated how marine ecosystems respond to change, and identified tipping points, risks and ways of managing them.

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