Artificial reefs are primarily used to provide a suitable habitat for target fish populations, but the structures can also improve water quality and benefit non-target organisms. Laboratory incubation experiments were conducted in the presence of biofilm on rubble and in its absence to examine bacterial growth, community respiration, and nutrient dynamics at four artificial reef habitats in the Mississippi Sound. Biofilm samples were also collected from settlement plates deployed at each site and were analyzed for 813C and 81sN stable isotope content. Respiration rates were always higher in the presence of biofilm but bacterial abundance often declined over time, and rates of decline were higher in the presence of biofilm. This suggests that heterotrophic activity was high but bacterial abundance was limited by some factor, such as grazing pressure. P04 and NH4 production were often observed in incubation experiments, and production rates were higher in the presence of biofilm, indicating that the benthic community supplements microbial water column nutrient regeneration. Respiration, P04 production, and NH4 production were higher in low profile reef incubations than high profile reef incubations when biofilm was present, which reflected the higher biofilm growth observed at low profile reefs. Seasonal effects were also observed. Respiration and nutrient production rates were positively correlated with temperature, and 813C and 81sN values were enriched during warmer seasons, all of which indicate higher benthic and water column productivity. Further studies are needed to compare productivity and nutrient regeneration at other artificial reefs and natural reefs.
","abstract_html":"<p>Artificial reefs are primarily used to provide a suitable habitat for target fish populations, but the structures can also improve water quality and benefit non-target organisms. Laboratory incubation experiments were conducted in the presence of biofilm on rubble and in its absence to examine bacterial growth, community respiration, and nutrient dynamics at four artificial reef habitats in the Mississippi Sound. Biofilm samples were also collected from settlement plates deployed at each site and were analyzed for 813C and 81sN stable isotope content. Respiration rates were always higher in the presence of biofilm but bacterial abundance often declined over time, and rates of decline were higher in the presence of biofilm. This suggests that heterotrophic activity was high but bacterial abundance was limited by some factor, such as grazing pressure. P04 and NH4 production were often observed in incubation experiments, and production rates were higher in the presence of biofilm, indicating that the benthic community supplements microbial water column nutrient regeneration. Respiration, P04 production, and NH4 production were higher in low profile reef incubations than high profile reef incubations when biofilm was present, which reflected the higher biofilm growth observed at low profile reefs. Seasonal effects were also observed. Respiration and nutrient production rates were positively correlated with temperature, and 813C and 81sN values were enriched during warmer seasons, all of which indicate higher benthic and water column productivity. Further studies are needed to compare productivity and nutrient regeneration at other artificial reefs and natural reefs. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wilking, Lynn Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kevin Dillon","Chet Rakocinski","Patrick Biber"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:06Z","subjects":["Life Sciences","Marine Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/576","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kevin Dillon","Chet Rakocinski","Patrick Biber"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wilking, Lynn Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-11-28T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Life Sciences","Marine Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/576"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Artificial reefs are primarily used to provide a suitable habitat for target fish populations, but the structures can also improve water quality and benefit non-target organisms. Laboratory incubation experiments were conducted in the presence of biofilm on rubble and in its absence to examine bacterial growth, community respiration, and nutrient dynamics at four artificial reef habitats in the Mississippi Sound. Biofilm samples were also collected from settlement plates deployed at each site and were analyzed for 813C and 81sN stable isotope content. Respiration rates were always higher in the presence of biofilm but bacterial abundance often declined over time, and rates of decline were higher in the presence of biofilm. This suggests that heterotrophic activity was high but bacterial abundance was limited by some factor, such as grazing pressure. P04 and NH4 production were often observed in incubation experiments, and production rates were higher in the presence of biofilm, indicating that the benthic community supplements microbial water column nutrient regeneration. Respiration, P04 production, and NH4 production were higher in low profile reef incubations than high profile reef incubations when biofilm was present, which reflected the higher biofilm growth observed at low profile reefs. Seasonal effects were also observed. Respiration and nutrient production rates were positively correlated with temperature, and 813C and 81sN values were enriched during warmer seasons, all of which indicate higher benthic and water column productivity. Further studies are needed to compare productivity and nutrient regeneration at other artificial reefs and natural reefs.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Assessing Respiration Rates and Nutrient Dynamics of Aritifical Reef Biofilms and Bacterioplankton in the Mississippi Sound"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kevin Dillon","Chet Rakocinski","Patrick Biber"],"dc:creator":["Wilking, Lynn Elizabeth"],"dc:date.available":["2018-11-28T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Artificial reefs are primarily used to provide a suitable habitat for target fish populations, but the structures can also improve water quality and benefit non-target organisms. Laboratory incubation experiments were conducted in the presence of biofilm on rubble and in its absence to examine bacterial growth, community respiration, and nutrient dynamics at four artificial reef habitats in the Mississippi Sound. Biofilm samples were also collected from settlement plates deployed at each site and were analyzed for 813C and 81sN stable isotope content. Respiration rates were always higher in the presence of biofilm but bacterial abundance often declined over time, and rates of decline were higher in the presence of biofilm. This suggests that heterotrophic activity was high but bacterial abundance was limited by some factor, such as grazing pressure. P04 and NH4 production were often observed in incubation experiments, and production rates were higher in the presence of biofilm, indicating that the benthic community supplements microbial water column nutrient regeneration. Respiration, P04 production, and NH4 production were higher in low profile reef incubations than high profile reef incubations when biofilm was present, which reflected the higher biofilm growth observed at low profile reefs. Seasonal effects were also observed. Respiration and nutrient production rates were positively correlated with temperature, and 813C and 81sN values were enriched during warmer seasons, all of which indicate higher benthic and water column productivity. Further studies are needed to compare productivity and nutrient regeneration at other artificial reefs and natural reefs.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/576"],"dc:subject":["Life Sciences","Marine Biology"],"dc:title":["Assessing Respiration Rates and Nutrient Dynamics of Aritifical Reef Biofilms and Bacterioplankton in the Mississippi Sound"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:06Z"}