Meiofauna and chlorophyll associated with Beggiatoa mats of a natural submarine petroleum seep

Previous studies at the Isla Vista oil seep have suggested that meiofauna, particularly nematodes, might be an important factor in explaining macrofaunal enrichment by making bacterial biomass available to the benthic food web. To explore this possibility, we analyzed meiofaunal abundance and microalgal pigments inside and just outside of bacterial mats at this natural oil seep.

The bacterial mats occur where crude oil and natural gas are actively seeping out of the sediment; cores from within the mats contained a great deal of crude oil (up to 50 %). Meiofaunal abundances were the same in and out of the bacterial mats (averaging 1·-9 × 106 individuals m-2). However, dramatic changes in community structure were noticed. Harpacticoids made up 19 % of the fauna outside the mats but only 1 % inside. Pigment concentrations were also the same in both sites with phaeophytin dominating chlorophyll (120 compared to 29.8 mg m-2). The variance of both microalgal pigments and meiofauna was much greater inside than outside, suggesting that the bacterial mats are a more heterogeneous environment.

Although the effect of crude oil toxicity is not clear, the high abundances of microbial and meiofaunal biomass support the hypothesis of benthic enrichment via microbes and meiofauna.