Abstract
Microphytobenthos (MPB), the algae that inhabit the intertidal mudflats, are important for the functioning of estuarine ecosystems. Their high primary production is critical, producing oxygen and sustaining the highly biodiverse estuarine food web. MPB community also excrete sticky substances that decrease sediment resuspension in the water column and increase the light climate needed for primary production. Unfortunately, these mudflats are under thread of increased hydrodynamic stress due to, amongst others, increased tidal amplitude by sea level rise and management such as channel deepening. In the Scheldt estuary there has been a strong increase in turbidity of the water column, negatively affecting the primary production. Legislations enforce the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem and therefore we need good understanding of the role of biological components, such as MPB, in estuarine ecosystem functioning. The MPB community in estuaries varies over the salinity gradient, and of some algal groups their effect on ecosystem functioning remains hardly studied. Furthermore, the importance of small-scale variation in benthic primary production (BPP) on ecosystem scale needs to be identified. Therefore, this project will tackle the central knowledge gaps: 1) quantify the benthic primary production, 2) relate this sediment stabilization potential and 3) implement these functions in a calculation tool for ecosystem functioning.
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