Disturbance of Intertidal Sediments: The Response of Bacteria and Foraminifera

Incubation experiments tracked the re-establishment of bacterial and foraminiferal communities in sieved intertidal sediments for 49 days. Foraminifera re-migrated to the top 3 mm of oxygenated sediment within 21 days, while total bacterial abundance did not recover to original levels. The data, from Geoscience Australia Data, includes counts of living foraminifera, pore water redox element measurements, and bacterial abundance quantified via phospholipid-derived fatty acids.

Use Cases

• Modeling vertical zonation recovery of foraminifera based on oxygen presence over a 21-day period
• Analyzing long-term changes in bacterial distribution based on phospholipid-derived fatty acid (PLFA) concentration profiles
• Comparing sediment biogeochemistry between field and microcosm conditions based on redox-sensitive element measurements
• Studying the role of macrobenthos in sediment mixing and electron acceptor flux based on the described experimental contrast

Strengths

• Experimental design includes a 49-day incubation period, allowing observation of long-term recovery dynamics
• Data integrates biological counts (foraminifera) with geochemical measurements (redox-sensitive elements in pore water)
• Bacterial quantification uses a specific biochemical method (phospholipid-derived fatty acid analysis for C12-C22 esters)

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last updated 2026-04-11 22:58:51.561953; freshness should be verified

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Incubation experiments on sieved intertidal sediments, with foraminiferal counts and voltammetric microelectrode measurements.

Time Range

Experimental incubation period of 49 days.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-11 22:58:51.561953

Geography

Intertidal sediments; specific location not stated.