Galen E. Jones

Microbial biogeochemistry and bioturbation in the sediments of Great Bay, New Hampshire

The influence of bioturbation on certain aspects of the biogeochemistry of sulfur and iron was examined in shallow-water sediments of Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. A bioturbated (JEL) and non-bioturbated (SQUAM) site were compared. Annual sulfate reduction measured with 35S, was ∼4·5 times more rapid at JEL. A significant portion of this difference was attributed to rapid rates which occurred throughout the upper 12 cm of sediment at JEL due to infaunal reworking activities. Sulfate reduction decreased rapidly with depth at SQUAM. FeS in the upper 2 cm at JEL increased in concentration from 3 to 45 μmol ml−1 from early May to late July while only increasing from 3 to 8 μmol ml−1 at SQUAM. Infaunal irrigation and reworking activities caused rapid and continous subsurface cycling of iron and sulfur at JEL. This maintained dissolved iron concentrations at 160–170 μM throughout the summer despite rapid sulfide production. Therefore, dissolved sulfide never accumulated in JEL pore waters. Although dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was generated during sulfate reduction, bioturbation during summer caused a net removal of DOC from JEL pore waters. Sulfate reduction rates, decomposition stoichiometry and nutrient concentrations were used to calculate turnover times of nutrients in pore waters. Nutrient turnover varied temporally and increased three-to five-fold during bioturbation. A secondary maximum in the abundance of recoverable sulfate-reducing bacteria occurred at 10 cm in JEL sediments only during periods of active bioturbation, demonstrating the influence of macrofaunal activities on bacterial distributions.

Seasonal metal remobilization in the sediments of Great Bay, New Hampshire

Abstract Concentrations of dissolved iron, manganese, molybdenum, copper, and organic carbon (DOC) were measured in the pore waters from surficial sediments of a temperate estuary to delineate seasonal metal remobilization from 1978 through 1980. Iron and DOC data were collected for 31 months and covaried inversely and exponentially. Iron dissolution occurred during the spring and during periods of active bioturbation with concentrations as high as 18 mg 1 −1 . Iron values were low during winter due to oxidation to ferric oxides. The lack of active bioturbation during the summer of 1978 allowed for the nearly complete removal of iron as a monosulfide precipitate. However, bioturbation resumed during the summer of 1979 and 1980 and dissolved iron concentrations as high as 10 mg 1 −1 were observed at those times. The iron and DOC data were a qualitative measure of bioturbation activity. Dissolved manganese, molybdenum, and copper data were collected for 18 months during 1978 and 1979. All three metals displayed spring maxima covariate with iron, suggesting that they behaved chemically like iron and/or were associated with iron- or manganese-rich phases during this time of the year. In general, manganese and molybdenum varied temporally with iron while copper concentrations mimicked iron variations only during the spring.

Estuarine ecology of phenanthrene-degrading bacteria

Phenanthrene degrading bacteria were ubiquitously distributed in waters and sediments of the Great Bay Estuary, NH, as determined using a 14C-phenanthrene mineralization assay. Similar activities were observed in water samples collected in March and June when these were incubated at 18 °C even though ambient water temperatures were 1–4 °C and 10–22 °C, respectively. This observation indicated the constant presence of a mesophilic phenanthrene-degrading bacterial population in the estuary. Among water samples, the highest biodegradation activities were associated with samples collected downstream from a dredging operation which introduced high concentrations of coal tar PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) into the Cocheco River, and in areas receiving PAH from pleasure and commercial boating activities. Mid-estuarine maxima in biodegradation activity during both sampling trips suggested adaptation of the microbial flora to the salinities prevailing in the low turnover, high residence time portion of the Estuary at the time of sampling. Despite the hydrophobicity of phenanthrene, no correlation between biodegradation rates and particulate matter concentrations were observed. Similarly, concentrations of nutrients and dissolved and particulate organic matter correlated poorly with biodegradation rates. Better agreements between 14C-phenanthrene mineralization potentials and plate counts on a phenanthrene/toluene agar (PTA) medium were observed. Phenanthrene biodegradative activities and numbers of culturable bacteria growing on PTA were governed by the degree of previous exposure to PAH.

A marine isolate of Pseudomonas nigrifaciens

SummaryP. nigrifaciens produces a water-insoluble blue pigment on solid media which forms cuboidal crystals among the cells. The pigment was prepared by bulk harvest of isolated colonies incubated 5 days at 15°C. The cells were extracted with DMF and the extract benzene-precipitated and chromatographed over Sephadex LH-20. Analytical data were compiled leading to a provisional structure closely related to the pigments of P. indigofera and P. lemonnieri.