Kansuru Chosa Kenkyu Hokokusho Heisei, 13(Nendo),
335–340.
Savarese, M., 1994. Taphonomic and paleoecologic implications of
flow-induced forces on concavo-convex articulate brachiopods:
an experimental approach. Lethaia, 27(4), 301–312.
Sawlowlicz, Z., 1993. Pyrite framboids and their development:
a new conceptual mechanism. Geologische Rundschau, 82,
148–156.
Schieber, J., 2002. Sedimentary pyrite: a window into the microbial
past. Geology, 30, 531–534.
Selley, R. C., 2000. Applied Sedimentology. London: Academic.
Semeniuk, V., 1997. Pleistocene coastal palaeogeography in southwestern Australia – carbonate and quartz sand sedimentation in
cuspate forelands, barriers and ribbon shoreline deposits. Journal of Coastal Research, 13, 468–489.
Semeniuk, V., 2000. Sedimentology and Holocene stratigraphy of
Leschenault Inlet. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 83, 255–274.
Semeniuk, V., and Johnson, D. P., 1982. Recent and Pleistocene beach
and dune sequences, WA. Sedimentary Geology, 32, 301–328.
Semeniuk, C. A., and Semeniuk, V., 1990. The coastal landforms
and peripheral wetlands of the Peel-Harvey Estuarine System.
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 73, 9–21.
Semeniuk, V., Semeniuk, C. A., Tauss, C., Unno, J., and Brocx, M.,
2011. Walpole and Nornalup Inlets: Landforms, Stratigraphy,
Evolution, Hydrology, Water Quality, Biota, and Geoheritage.
Perth:
Western
Australian
Museum.
(Monograph).
584 p. http://museum.wa.gov.au/store/museum-books/fauna/
walpole-and-nornalup-inlets. ISBN 978-1-920843-37-3.
Suess, E., 1979. Mineral phases formed in anoxic sediments by
microbial decomposition of organic matter. Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta, 43(3), 339–341.
Tourtelout, H. A., 1968. Hydraulic equivalence of grains of quartz
and heavier minerals, and implications for the study of placers.
Washington: United States Government Printing Office. Geological Survey Professional Paper 594-F.
van der Wal, D., 1998. Effects of fetch and surface texture on aeolian sand transport on two nourished beaches. Journal of Arid
Environments, 39, 533–547.
Webb, A. P., and Eyre, B. D., 2004. The effect of natural populations
of the burrowing and grazing soldier crab (Mictyris longicarpus)
on sediment irrigation, benthic metabolism and nitrogen fluxes.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 309,
1–19.
Werner, B. T., and Fink, T. M., 1993. Beach cusps as self-organized
patterns. Science, 260(5110), 968–971, doi:10.1126/
science.260.5110.968.
Wilkin, R. T., Barnes, H. L., and Brantley, S. L., 1996. The size distribution of framboidal pyrite in modern sediments: an indicator
of redox conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60(20),
3897–3912.
Yasso, W. E., 1966. Heavy mineral concentration and sastrugi-like
deflation furrows in a beach salcrete at Rockaway Point, New
York. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 36(3), 836–838.
Zobell, C. E., 1946. Studies on redox potential of marine sediments.
Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists,
30, 477–511.
Cross-references
Evaporation and Transpiration
Mineralization
Stratigraphy of Estuaries
Tidal Flat Salinity Gradient
BENTHIC ECOLOGY
Marguerite C. Pelletier
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of
Research and Development, National Health and
Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic
Ecology Division, Narragansett, RI, USA
Definition
Benthic ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology that focuses
on organisms living in or on the bottom of a water body
(e.g., an estuary) and the interactions among these organisms and with their surrounding environment.
Expanded definition
E. P. Odum (1971) defined ecology as “the science of
interrelations between living organisms and their environment.” The word “benthic” is derived from “benthos”
defined as the bottom of a water body and/or the organisms living on the bottom of the water body (Websters II
New Riverside University Dictionary, 1994). Thus, benthic ecology encompasses the study of the interrelations
among organisms living in or on the bottom of a water
body (e.g., an estuary) and their interactions with the
surrounding environment. Benthic organisms include
megafauna (>>>1 mm) such as bottom-oriented fish,
crustaceans, and echinoderms living at or just above
the sediment surface; macrofauna (>0.5 or 1 mm) such
as polychaetes, molluscs, anemones, and arthropods living on top of or within the sediment; meiofauna (0.1 mm
to 0.5 or 1 mm) such as nematodes, oligochaetes, and
harpacticoid copepods living in sediment interstices
(spaces between grains of sediment); and microfauna
(<0.1 mm) such as protozoans (Miller, 2004; Levinton,
2009). Benthic organisms also include benthic diatoms,
attached algae, kelp, and seagrass, as well as the associated bottom microbial community. In addition to biological and community interactions, benthic ecology
includes chemical transformation and physical modifications of the environment as mediated by the benthos
and the effect of these transformations and modifications on associated ecological communities (Levinton,
2009; Day et al., 2012). For example, benthic organisms
can influence nutrient cycling and hydrodynamics
through their activities (e.g., bioturbation, reef building,
seagrass bed expansion), while hydrodynamics, depth,
and other environmental factors can act to structure benthic communities. Benthic ecology examines a wide
variety of organisms and habitats from the intertidal to
the deepest bottom of the ocean. The science of benthic
ecosystems is as diverse and interconnected as the
seafloor itself.
BENTHIC ECOLOGY
73
335–340.
Savarese, M., 1994. Taphonomic and paleoecologic implications of
flow-induced forces on concavo-convex articulate brachiopods:
an experimental approach. Lethaia, 27(4), 301–312.
Sawlowlicz, Z., 1993. Pyrite framboids and their development:
a new conceptual mechanism. Geologische Rundschau, 82,
148–156.
Schieber, J., 2002. Sedimentary pyrite: a window into the microbial
past. Geology, 30, 531–534.
Selley, R. C., 2000. Applied Sedimentology. London: Academic.
Semeniuk, V., 1997. Pleistocene coastal palaeogeography in southwestern Australia – carbonate and quartz sand sedimentation in
cuspate forelands, barriers and ribbon shoreline deposits. Journal of Coastal Research, 13, 468–489.
Semeniuk, V., 2000. Sedimentology and Holocene stratigraphy of
Leschenault Inlet. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 83, 255–274.
Semeniuk, V., and Johnson, D. P., 1982. Recent and Pleistocene beach
and dune sequences, WA. Sedimentary Geology, 32, 301–328.
Semeniuk, C. A., and Semeniuk, V., 1990. The coastal landforms
and peripheral wetlands of the Peel-Harvey Estuarine System.
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 73, 9–21.
Semeniuk, V., Semeniuk, C. A., Tauss, C., Unno, J., and Brocx, M.,
2011. Walpole and Nornalup Inlets: Landforms, Stratigraphy,
Evolution, Hydrology, Water Quality, Biota, and Geoheritage.
Perth:
Western
Australian
Museum.
(Monograph).
584 p. http://museum.wa.gov.au/store/museum-books/fauna/
walpole-and-nornalup-inlets. ISBN 978-1-920843-37-3.
Suess, E., 1979. Mineral phases formed in anoxic sediments by
microbial decomposition of organic matter. Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta, 43(3), 339–341.
Tourtelout, H. A., 1968. Hydraulic equivalence of grains of quartz
and heavier minerals, and implications for the study of placers.
Washington: United States Government Printing Office. Geological Survey Professional Paper 594-F.
van der Wal, D., 1998. Effects of fetch and surface texture on aeolian sand transport on two nourished beaches. Journal of Arid
Environments, 39, 533–547.
Webb, A. P., and Eyre, B. D., 2004. The effect of natural populations
of the burrowing and grazing soldier crab (Mictyris longicarpus)
on sediment irrigation, benthic metabolism and nitrogen fluxes.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 309,
1–19.
Werner, B. T., and Fink, T. M., 1993. Beach cusps as self-organized
patterns. Science, 260(5110), 968–971, doi:10.1126/
science.260.5110.968.
Wilkin, R. T., Barnes, H. L., and Brantley, S. L., 1996. The size distribution of framboidal pyrite in modern sediments: an indicator
of redox conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60(20),
3897–3912.
Yasso, W. E., 1966. Heavy mineral concentration and sastrugi-like
deflation furrows in a beach salcrete at Rockaway Point, New
York. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 36(3), 836–838.
Zobell, C. E., 1946. Studies on redox potential of marine sediments.
Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists,
30, 477–511.
Cross-references
Evaporation and Transpiration
Mineralization
Stratigraphy of Estuaries
Tidal Flat Salinity Gradient
BENTHIC ECOLOGY
Marguerite C. Pelletier
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of
Research and Development, National Health and
Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic
Ecology Division, Narragansett, RI, USA
Definition
Benthic ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology that focuses
on organisms living in or on the bottom of a water body
(e.g., an estuary) and the interactions among these organisms and with their surrounding environment.
Expanded definition
E. P. Odum (1971) defined ecology as “the science of
interrelations between living organisms and their environment.” The word “benthic” is derived from “benthos”
defined as the bottom of a water body and/or the organisms living on the bottom of the water body (Websters II
New Riverside University Dictionary, 1994). Thus, benthic ecology encompasses the study of the interrelations
among organisms living in or on the bottom of a water
body (e.g., an estuary) and their interactions with the
surrounding environment. Benthic organisms include
megafauna (>>>1 mm) such as bottom-oriented fish,
crustaceans, and echinoderms living at or just above
the sediment surface; macrofauna (>0.5 or 1 mm) such
as polychaetes, molluscs, anemones, and arthropods living on top of or within the sediment; meiofauna (0.1 mm
to 0.5 or 1 mm) such as nematodes, oligochaetes, and
harpacticoid copepods living in sediment interstices
(spaces between grains of sediment); and microfauna
(<0.1 mm) such as protozoans (Miller, 2004; Levinton,
2009). Benthic organisms also include benthic diatoms,
attached algae, kelp, and seagrass, as well as the associated bottom microbial community. In addition to biological and community interactions, benthic ecology
includes chemical transformation and physical modifications of the environment as mediated by the benthos
and the effect of these transformations and modifications on associated ecological communities (Levinton,
2009; Day et al., 2012). For example, benthic organisms
can influence nutrient cycling and hydrodynamics
through their activities (e.g., bioturbation, reef building,
seagrass bed expansion), while hydrodynamics, depth,
and other environmental factors can act to structure benthic communities. Benthic ecology examines a wide
variety of organisms and habitats from the intertidal to
the deepest bottom of the ocean. The science of benthic
ecosystems is as diverse and interconnected as the
seafloor itself.
BENTHIC ECOLOGY
73