caa a22 4500 467885710 CHVBK 20180406152733.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e20060601xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10021-006-0135-9 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10021-006-0135-9 The Contribution of Crab Burrow Excavation to Carbon Availability in Surficial Salt-marsh Sediments [Elektronische Daten] [Jorge Gutiérrez, Clive Jones, Peter Groffman, Stuart Findlay, Oscar Iribarne, Pablo Ribeiro, C. Bruschetti] Geomorphology, vegetation and tidal fluxes are usually identified as the factors introducing variation in the flushing of particulate organic matter (POM) from tidal marshes to adjacent waters. Such variables may, however, be insufficient to explain export characteristics in marshes inhabited by ecosystem engineers that can alter the quantity and quality of POM on the marsh surface that is subject to tidal flushing. In this study we evaluated the balance between transfer of buried sedimentary organic carbon (C) to the marsh surface due to crab excavation (measured from the mounds of sediment excavated from burrows) and outputs of C from the surface due to sediment deposition within crab burrows (estimated from sediment deposited within PVC burrow mimics), in a Southwestern Atlantic salt marsh supporting dense (approximately 70 ind m−2) populations of the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus. C excavation by crabs was much greater than deposition of C within crab burrow mimics. Per area unit estimates of the balance between these two processes indicated that crabs excavated 5.98 g m−2 d−1 and 4.80 mg m−2 d−1 of total and readily (10 d) labile C, respectively. However, sediments excavated by crabs showed a significantly lower content of both total and readily-labile C than sediment collected in burrow mimics. This indicates that ecosystem engineering by burrowing crabs causes a net decrease in the concentration of C in the superficial sediment layers and, thus, an overall decrease in the amount of C that can be washed out of the marsh by tidal action. Incorporating the in situ activities of ecosystem engineers in models of marsh export should enhance understanding of the function of marshes in estuarine ecosystems. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 2006 burrows nationallicence carbon nationallicence crab nationallicence ecosystem engineer nationallicence excavation nationallicence export nationallicence salt marsh nationallicence sediment nationallicence Gutiérrez Jorge Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut Jones Clive Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut Groffman Peter Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut Findlay Stuart Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut Iribarne Oscar Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina aut Ribeiro Pablo Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina aut Bruschetti C. Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina aut Ecosystems Springer-Verlag; www.springer-ny.com 9/4(2006-06-01), 647-658 1432-9840 9:4<647 2006 9 10021 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-006-0135-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-006-0135-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gutiérrez Jorge Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Jones Clive Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Groffman Peter Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Findlay Stuart Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, New York, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Iribarne Oscar Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ribeiro Pablo Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Bruschetti C. Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Ecosystems Springer-Verlag; www.springer-ny.com 9/4(2006-06-01), 647-658 1432-9840 9:4<647 2006 9 10021 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer