Harald Hasler-Sheetal

Sulfide Intrusion and Detoxification in the Seagrass Zostera marina

Gaseous sulfide intrusion into seagrasses growing in sulfidic sediments causes little or no harm to the plant, indicating the presence of an unknown sulfide tolerance or detoxification mechanism. We assessed such mechanism in the seagrass Zostera marina in the laboratory and in the field with scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods, and stable isotope tracing coupled with a mass balance of sulfur compounds. We found that Z. marina detoxified gaseous sediment-derived sulfide through incorporation and that most of the detoxification occurred in underground tissues, where sulfide intrusion was greatest. Elemental sulfur was a major detoxification compound, precipitating on the inner wall of the aerenchyma of underground tissues. Sulfide was metabolized into thiols and entered the plant sulfur metabolism as well as being stored as sulfate throughout the plant. We conclude that avoidance of sulfide exposure by reoxidation of sulfide in the rhizosphere or aerenchyma and tolerance of sulfide intrusion by incorporation of sulfur in the plant are likely major survival strategies of seagrasses in sulfidic sediments.

Sulfide intrusion in seagrasses assessed by stable sulfur isotopes—a synthesis of current results

Sulfide intrusion in seagrasses, as assessed by stable sulfur isotope signals, is widespread in all climate zones, where seagrasses are growing. Seagrasses can incorporate substantial amounts of 34S-depleted sulfide into their tissues with up to 87% of the total sulfur in leaves derived from sedimentary sulfide. Correlations between δ34S in leaves, rhizomes and roots show that sedimentary sulfide is entering through the roots, either in the form of sulfide or sulfate, and translocated to the rhizomes and the leaves. The total sulfur content of the seagrasses increases as the proportion of sedimentary sulfide in the plant increases, and accumulation of elemental sulfur (S0) inside the plant with δ34S values similar to the sedimentary sulfide suggests that S0 is an important reoxidation product of the sedimentary sulfide. The accumulation of S0 can, however, not account for the increase in sulfur in the tissue, and other sulfur containing compounds such as thiols, organic sulfur and sulfate contribute to the accumulated sulfur pool. Experimental studies with seagrasses exposed to environmental and biological stressors show decreasing δ34S in the tissues along with reduction in growth parameters, suggesting that sulfide intrusion can affect seagrass performance.

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Food Web Structure in Different Environmental Settings

This study compares the structure of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) meadows and associated food webs in two eelgrass habitats in Denmark, differing in exposure, connection to the open sea, nutrient enrichment and water transparency. Meadow structure strongly reflected the environmental conditions in each habitat. The eutrophicated, protected site had higher biomass of filamentous algae, lower eelgrass biomass and shoot density, longer and narrower leaves, and higher above to below ground biomass ratio compared to the less nutrient-enriched and more exposed site. The faunal community composition and food web structure also differed markedly between sites with the eutrophicated, enclosed site having higher biomass of consumers and less complex food web. These relationships resulted in a column shaped biomass distribution of the consumers at the eutrophicated site whereas the less nutrient-rich site showed a pyramidal biomass distribution of consumers coupled with a more diverse consumer community. The differences in meadow and food web structure of the two seagrass habitats, suggest how physical setting may shape ecosystem response and resilience to anthropogenic pressure. We encourage larger, replicated studies to further disentangle the effects of different environmental variables on seagrass food web structure.

Metabolism in anoxic permeable sediments is dominated by eukaryotic dark fermentation

Permeable sediments are common across continental shelves and are critical contributors to marine biogeochemical cycling. Organic matter in permeable sediments is dominated by microalgae, which as eukaryotes have different anaerobic metabolic pathways to prokaryotes such as bacteria and archaea. Here we present analyses of flow-through reactor experiments showing that dissolved inorganic carbon is produced predominantly as a result of anaerobic eukaryotic metabolic activity. In our experiments, anaerobic production of dissolved inorganic carbon was consistently accompanied by large dissolved H2 production rates, suggesting the presence of fermentation. The production of both dissolved inorganic carbon and H2 persisted following administration of broad spectrum bactericidal antibiotics, but ceased following treatment with metronidazole. Metronidazole inhibits the ferredoxin/hydrogenase pathway of fermentative eukaryotic H2 production, suggesting that pathway as the source of H2 and dissolved inorganic carbon production. Metabolomic analysis showed large increases in lipid production at the onset of anoxia, consistent with documented pathways of anoxic dark fermentation in microalgae. Cell counts revealed a predominance of microalgae in the sediments. H2 production was observed in dark anoxic cultures of diatoms (Fragilariopsis sp.) and a chlorophyte (Pyramimonas) isolated from the study site, substantiating the hypothesis that microalgae undertake fermentation. We conclude that microalgal dark fermentation could be an important energy-conserving pathway in permeable sediments.

Drivers of sulfide intrusion in Zostera muelleri in a moderately affected estuary in south-eastern Australia

The seagrass Zostera muelleri Irmisch ex Asch. is abundant in estuaries in Australia and is under pressure from coastal developments. We studied sulfide intrusion in Z. muelleri along a gradient of anthropogenic impact at five stations in the Wallis Lake estuary, Australia. Results showed differences in sediment biogeochemical conditions, seagrass metrics as well as nutrient content and sulfide intrusion along the gradient from the lower estuary (affected) to the lagoon (unaffected). Sulfide intrusion was driven by complex interactions and related to changes in seagrass morphology and sediment biogeochemistry and was modified by the exposure to wind and wave action. The sediments in the lower estuary had high contributions from phytoplanktonic detritus, whereas the organic pools in the lagoon were dominated by seagrass detritus. Despite high concentrations of organic matter, sulfide intrusion was lower at stations dominated by seagrass detritus, probably because of lower sulfide pressure from the less labile nature of organic matter. Porewater diffusive gradients in thin-film (DGT) sulfide samplers showed efficient sulfide reoxidation in the rhizosphere, with high sulfur incorporation in the plants from sedimentary sulfides being likely due to sulfate uptake from reoxidised sulfide. This is a unique adaptation of Z. muelleri, which allows high productivity in estuarine sediments.