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Possible effects of sediment ventilation by benthic organisms on the nitrogen cycle were investigated using an experimental setup that mimicked stable or relatively low frequency oscillating redox conditions potentially found in bioturbated deposits. Three different conditions inside burrowed sediments were simulated using 2 mm thick sediment layers: 1) continuously oxic sediment exposed to oxygenated overlying bottom water (e.g., burrow walls, surface sediment), 2) continuously anoxic sediment out of reach from either O 2 or NO 3 − diffusion and 3) the lining/boundary of burrow structures or sediment pockets (e.g., excavated during feeding) subject to intermittent irrigation and redox fluctuations over several day timescales. Results demonstrated that intermittent redox fluctuations allowed sustained denitrification and episodic nitrification, whereas significant denitrification and both nitrification and denitrification were absent after ~ 5–10 days from continuously oxidized and anoxic zones respectively. Intermittent redox oscillations enhance metabolic diversity, magnify loss of dissolved inorganic N to solution, and permit sustained coupling between ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification despite lack of a stable stratified oxic-anoxic redox structure. Even relatively low frequency redox oscillations induce greater N loss compared to sediment that is continuously exposed to oxic and anoxic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of macrofaunal reworking activities on the redistribution of particle associated hydrocarbon compounds (HC) was experimentally investigated. Two distinct hydrocarbon mixtures adsorbed on montmorillonite particles (< 4 μm diameter) were added to the surface and deeper (2.5 cm) sediment layers. For comparison, luminophores (100–160 μm diameter) were added in the two deposit layers. At the start of the experiment, four macrobenthic species (the bivalve Abra nitida, the polychaete Scalibregma inflatum, and the echinoderms Amphiura filiformis and Echinocardium cordatum) were added to the sediment surface. The macrofauna added rapidly transferred HC from the surface sediment down to ∼5 cm depth by both continuous (biodiffusion) and non-continuous (biotransport) transport. Hydrocarbon compounds initially added to the deeper sediment layer were only subject to biodiffusion-like transport. Apparent biodiffusion coefficients (Db) quantified by using a 1-D model were between 0.5 and 8.4×10-3 cm 2 d-1, and biotransport coefficients (r) ranged from 2.0 to 27.6×10-3 d-1. Thus, the four species studied did not have the same effect on particle redistribution and, consequently, on HC repartition in the sediments. E. cordatum was the most efficient reworker. The present study demonstrated the importance of particle size selectivity by benthic fauna, and verified that macrofaunal reworking activities may redeposit sediment from deeper sediment layers on the sediment surface. Both processes have obvious implications for rates and pathways during organic matter mineralisation in marine sediments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recently, two fresh water species, "Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans" and "Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis", and one marine species, "Candidatus Scalindua sorokinii", of planctomycete anammox bacteria have been identified. "Candidatus Scalindua sorokinii" was discovered in the Black Sea, and contributed substantially to the loss of fixed nitrogen. All three species contain a unique organelle—the anammoxosome—in their cytoplasm. The anammoxosome contains the hydrazine/hydroxylamine oxidoreductase enzyme, and is thus the site of anammox catabolism. The anammoxosome is surrounded by a very dense membrane composed almost exclusively of linearly concatenated cyclobutane-containing lipids. These so-called 'ladderanes' are connected to the glycerol moiety via both ester and ether bonds. In natural and man-made ecosystems, anammox bacteria can cooperate with aerobic ammonium-oxidising bacteria, which protect them from harmful oxygen, and provide the necessary nitrite. The cooperation of these two groups of ammonium-oxidising bacteria is the microbial basis for a sustainable one reactor system, CANON (completely autotrophic nitrogen-removal over nitrite) to remove ammonia from high strength wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]