Micro-computed tomography scanning approaches to quantify,parameterize and visualize bioturbation activity in clogged streambeds: A proof of concept

Fine particle clogging and faunal bioturbation are two key processes co-occurring in the hyporheic zone that potentially affect hyporheic exchange through modifications in the sediment structure of streambeds. Clogging results from excessive fine sediment infiltration and deposition in rivers, and it is known to decrease matrix porosity and potentially reduce permeability. Faunal bioturbation activity may compensate for the negative effect of clogging by reworking the sediment, increasing porosity, and preventing further infiltration of fines. Although both processes of clogging and bioturbation have received significant attention in the literature separately, their combined effects on streambed sediment structure are not well understood, mostly due to the lack of a standard methodology for their assessment. Here, we illustrate a novel methodology using X-ray computed tomography (CT), as proof of concept, to investigate how, together, clogging and bioturbation affect streambed porosity in a controlled flow-through flume. By visualising gallery formations of an upward conveyor macroinvertebrate; Lumbriculus variegatus as a model species, we quantified bioturbation activity in a clogged streambed, focusing on orientation, depth, and volume at downwelling and upwelling areas of the flume. Gallery creation increased the porosity of the streambed sediment, suggesting a potential improvement in permeability and a possible offset of clogging effects. We illustrate the promising use of X-ray CT as a tool to assess bioturbation in clogged streambeds, and the potential role of bioturbation activity supporting hyporheic exchange processes in streambeds, warranting further studies to understand the extent of bioturbation impacts in natural systems.     

Particle Mixing Rates of Freshwater Bivalves: Anodonta grandis (Unionidae) and Sphaerium striatinum (Pisidiidae)

Sediment mixing by freshwater suspension feeding bivalves Anodonta grandis (Unionidae) and Sphaerium striatinum (Pisidiidae) was studied by adding illite clay particles with adsorbed ^I37Cs as a submillimeter thick layer to the surface of silt clay sediments contained in clear rectangular cells maintained in a temperature regulated aquarium. A Nal gamma detector scanned the sediment column in each cell at 0.2 cm intervals five times over 22 days and recorded changes in ^I37Cs activity over time with depth in cells containing 3 A. grandis, 4 S. striatinum, and a control cell containing no bivalves. Sediment mixing by these organisms was diffusional. The diffusion coefficient in the control cell was 0.02 cm²/yr, consistent with molecular diffusion of¹³⁷Cs tracer. Whole cell biodiffusion coefficients (D_b)for A. grandis and S. striatinum were 0.81–2.11 cm²/yr and 0.53 cm²/yr, respectively. Adjusting to equal population densities, the 11-27× higher sediment mixing rate of A. grandis was likely due primarily to its larger size. When D_bfor similar sized organisms was compared, S. striatinum was found to mix sediments at about the same rate as the marine bivalve Nucula proxima but at a 5× lower rate than the freshwater amphipod Diporeia sp. A. grandis mixes sediments 5–14× more slowly than the similar sized conveyor belt deposit feeding marine bivalve, Yoldia limatula.. While deposit feeding organisms are the dominant sediment mixers in the Great Lakes, suspension feeding bivalves can be locally significant.     

浮游植物对摇蚊幼虫扰动的响应研究

为了探究底栖动物扰动对上覆水浮游植物的影响,在实验室设沉积物-水微系统,引入广泛分布的红裸须摇蚊幼虫(Propsilocerus akamusi)和浮游植物,运用微电极等技术方法监测沉积物-水界面理化指标。结果表明,摇蚊幼虫的扰动降低了沉积物间隙水的溶解性有机磷(SRP)向上覆水的释放通量,减少了上覆水的溶解氧(DO)浓度,导致上覆水浮游植物生物量降低和群落结构向适应低磷的物种组成改变。同时,摇蚊幼虫扰动所引起的沉积物DO渗透量与沉积物-水界面SRP通量变化具有显著相关性,浮游植物生物量和上一次沉积物-水界面SRP通量变化有显著相关性,这些结果揭示了摇蚊幼虫通过改变沉积物结构和理化性质,进而能够抑制浮游植物的生长,有利于抑制水华现象的发生。     

螃蟹扰动作用对滨海湿地水盐交换的影响

为探究生物扰动作用对滨海湿地物质交换的影响,以螃蟹为研究对象进行室内控制试验,模拟了潮汐条件下不同螃蟹密度时沉积物地貌变化和水盐运移情况。结果表明:螃蟹能够将大量地下沉积物搬运至地表,形成起伏多变的微地形,使沉积物表面积明显增大;螃蟹活动能促进地表水与地下水交换,加快浅层土壤的盐分运移过程;地表水与地下水交换量和盐分运移量均随螃蟹密度的增大而明显增大。生物扰动作用是造成沉积物地貌改变的重要因素,进而促进了滨海湿地的水盐交换。     

Flume simulations of salmon bioturbation effects on critical shear stress and bedload transport in rivers

Nest (redd) construction by female salmonids involves sequences of pit excavation and filling that winnow fines, loosen grains, and moves sediment downstream into a tailspill mound shaped like a dune. Prior research suggests that such bioturbation may destabilize streambeds by reducing friction between grains and converging flow that elevates shear stress on tailspills. Bed stability may alternatively be enhanced by form drag from redds that lowers basal shear stress, an effect that varies with the proportion of the bed that is occupied by redds (P). I used simulated redds and water‐worked (“unspawned”) beds in a laboratory flume to evaluate these competing influences on critical conditions and bedload transport in experiments with P = 0.11 (1 redd), 0.29 (2 redds), and 0.38 (3 redds). Results from competence (largest grain) and reference transport rate estimates of Shields stress indicate that particle entrainment inversely related to P. Bedload transport rates also increased as exponential functions of P and the boundary shear stress that exceeded critical conditions. Therefore, redd form drag did not overcome the destabilizing effects of redd construction. Instead, grain mobility and bedload transport increased with P because larger bed areas were composed of relatively loose grains and redd topography that experiences elevated shear stresses, as suggested in prior research. By winnowing fines and increasing bed surface mobility that exposes small particles in subsurface areas to flow, bioturbation by salmon can mitigate fine sedimentation of streambeds, which suggests an active role for salmon in restoring fish habitat in streams.