caa a22 4500 467885281 CHVBK 20180406152732.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e20060901xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10021-005-0068-8 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10021-005-0068-8 Functional Role of Large Organisms in Intertidal Communities: Community Effects and Ecosystem Function [Elektronische Daten] [Simon Thrush, Judi Hewitt, Max Gibbs, Carolyn Lundquist, Alf Norkko] In marine soft sediments, large organisms are potentially important players in the nonlinear interactions that occur among animals, their food, and their chemical environment, all of which influence the contribution of benthos to ecosystem function. We investigated the consequences of removing large individuals of two functionally contrasting benthic communities on nutrient regeneration, microphyte standing stock, and macrobenthic community composition. The experiment was conducted at two adjacent sites that were physically similar but biologically different, one dominated by large deposit feeders and the other by large suspension feeders. Chemical fluxes were measured in experimental plots, and sediments were sampled to assess changes in macrofauna, sediment grain size, organic content, and microphyte standing stock. Our results demonstrate that the removal of large suspension feeders or deposit feeders influenced the flux of nitrogen and oxygen, surficial sediment characteristics, and community composition. In the deposit-feeder community, interactions between nutrient regeneration and grazing highlight important feedbacks between large macrofauna and biogeochemical processes and production by microphytes, indicating that the loss of large infauna driven by increased rates of anthropogenic disturbance may lead to functional extinction and cause shifts in community structure and ecosystem performance. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 2006 ecosystem function nationallicence biogeochemistry nationallicence microphytes nationallicence benthic communities nationallicence soft sediments nationallicence intertidal sandflats nationallicence New Zealand nationallicence Thrush Simon National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut Hewitt Judi National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut Gibbs Max National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut Lundquist Carolyn National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut Norkko Alf National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut Ecosystems Springer-Verlag; www.springer-ny.com 9/6(2006-09-01), 1029-1040 1432-9840 9:6<1029 2006 9 10021 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-005-0068-8 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-005-0068-8 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Thrush Simon National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Hewitt Judi National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gibbs Max National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Lundquist Carolyn National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Norkko Alf National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, 2005, Hamilton, New Zealand aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Ecosystems Springer-Verlag; www.springer-ny.com 9/6(2006-09-01), 1029-1040 1432-9840 9:6<1029 2006 9 10021 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer