TY - JOUR T1 - Trophic role of large benthic sulfur bacteria in mangrove sediment A1 - Pascal,Pierre-Yves A1 - Dubois,Stanislas A1 - Boschker,Henricus T. S. A1 - Gros,Olivier AD - Département de Biologie, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, UMR 7138 UPMC-CNRS-MNHN-IRD, Equipe ‘biologie de la mangrove’, UFR des Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, BP 592, 97159 Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France AD - IFREMER, DYNECO Laboratoire d’Ecologie Benthique,29280 Plouzané, France AD - Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands UR - https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00248/35919/ DO - 10.3354/meps11035 KW - Beggiatoa KW - Mangrove KW - Benthic food web KW - Sulfur bacteria KW - Meiofauna KW - Nematode KW - Rotifers KW - Stable isotope N2 - Large filamentous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria belonging to the Beggiatoacae family can cover large portions of shallow marine sediments surrounding mangroves in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). In order to assess the importance of Beggiatoa mats as an infaunal food source, observations were conducted of the area within mats and at increasing distances from mats. We used natural isotopic compositions and a C-13 enrichment study. Both revealed an ingestion of bacterial mats by associated meiofauna, dominated by rotifers and to a smaller extent by small polychaetes and nematodes. Compared to adjacent sites, sediment covered by bacterial mats presented a higher abundance of diatoms, whereas the total biomass of bacteria did not vary. This constant bacterial abundance suggests that the proportion of organic matter represented by sulfur bacteria is limited compared to the fraction of total bacteria. There was no significant difference in infaunal abundance in mats, suggesting that the availability of this chemosynthetic food resource had a limited local effect. Grazers presented a delta C-13 value increasing with distance from the mat. However, isotopic composition of phospholipid-derived fatty acids specific for diatoms and bacteria revealed that this change is related to modifications of delta C-13 dietary components rather than to changes in diet composition. These complementary methods revealed that the occurrence of sulfur-oxidizing bacterial mats does not necessarily affect grazer abundance and importance of bacteria in their diet. Despite its wide occurrence, Beggiatoa mats would consequently have a minor influence on the structure of the mangrove food web. Y1 - 2014/12/03 PB - Inter-Research JF - Marine Ecology Progress Series SN - 0171-8630 VL - 516 SP - 127 EP - 138 ID - 35919 ER -