Relationships among Tubificid Abundances, Sediment Composition, and Accumulation Rates in Lake Erie
Sediment cores taken at 15 sites within the three main depositional basins of Lake Erie from 1976 to 1982 were sectioned in 1-cm intervals and analyzed for the abundance and vertical distribution of benthic organisms, 137Cs, and 210Pb (in some cores) and for surficial (upper 2 cm) organic and inorganic carbon. Zoobenthos populations were dominated (>85%) by tubificids (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Quistadrilus multisetosus, and Tubifex tubifex) and varied in abundance from 6600 to 55 300 individuals∙m−2. The depth above which 90% of the individuals occurred correlated significantly with their abundance and with radiometrically determined mixed depths. Rates of sediment reworking by tubificids exceeded sedimentation rates by 5–80 times, indicating that worms alone can produce the observed zone of constant tracer activity at the sediment–water interface. Tubificid abundance was not significantly related to organic carbon but instead correlated strongly with the sediment accumulation rate and organic carbon flux. In Lake Erie the abundance of tubificids may be limited by the rate of supply of nutrients as measured roughly in terms of the organic carbon flux.