Published

Estuarine biofilm patterns: Modern analogues for Precambrian self-organization Version 52

Roeland C. van de Vijsel (1: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, Yerseke NL-4400 AC, The Netherlands. 2: Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, Groningen, NL 9700CC, The Netherlands.) Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research https://doi.org/10.25850/nioz/7b.b.m

This field and laboratory study examines whether regularly patterned biofilms on present-day intertidal flats are equivalent to microbially induced bedforms found in geological records dating back to the onset of life on Earth. Algal mats of filamentous Vaucheria species, functionally similar to microbial biofilms, cover the topographic highs of regularly spaced ridge???runnel bedforms. As regular patterning is typically associated with self-organization processes, indicators of self-organization are tested and found to support this hypothesis. The measurements suggest that biofilm-induced sediment trapping and biostabilization enhance bedform relief, strength and multi-year persistence. This demonstrates the importance of primitive organisms for sedimentary landscape development. Algal-covered ridges consist of wavy-crinkly laminated sedimentary deposits that resemble the layered structure of fossil stromatolites and microbially induced sedimentary structures. In addition to layering, both the morphological pattern and the suggested formation mechanism of the recent bedforms are strikingly similar to microbialite strata found in rock records from the Precambrian onwards. This implies that self-organization was an important morphological process in times when biofilms were the predominant sessile ecosystem. These findings furthermore emphasize that self-organization dynamics, such as critical transitions invoking ecosystem emergence or collapse, might have been captured in fossil microbialites, influencing their laminae. This notion may be important for paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on such strata.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Subject Earth and Environmental Sciences
DAS Code 7b.b.m
Source https://doi.org/10.25850/nioz/7b.b.m
Version 52
Creator(s)
van de Vijsel, Roeland C. (1: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, Yerseke NL-4400 AC, The Netherlands. 2: Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, Groningen, NL 9700CC, The Netherlands.)
ORCID
Contact the corresponding author

van Belzen, Jim (1: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, Yerseke NL-4400 AC, The Netherlands. 3: Ecosystem Management Research Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.)
ORCID

Bouma, Tjeerd J. (1: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, Yerseke NL-4400 AC, The Netherlands. 4: Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3508TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands.)
ORCID

van der Wal, Daphne (1: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, Yerseke NL-4400 AC, The Netherlands. 5: Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands.)
ORCID

Cusseddu, Valentina (6: Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, Polo Bionaturalistico, University of Sassari, Via Piandanna 4, 07100 Sassari, Italy.)
ORCID

Purkis, Sam J. (7: CSL ??? Center for Carbonate Research, Department of Marine Geosciences, RSMAS, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA.)
ORCID

Rietkerk, Max (8: Copernicus Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, Utrecht University, PO Box 80115, 3508TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands.)
ORCID

van de Koppel, Johan (1: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, Yerseke NL-4400 AC, The Netherlands. 2: Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, Groningen, NL 9700CC, The Netherlands.)
ORCID
Depositor Roeland van de Vijsel (roeland.van.de.vijsel@nioz.nl)
Publication Date 2020-01-24T21:28:14.4938391
Deposit Date 2019-04-24
Dataset Persistent Identifier DOI:10.25850/nioz/7b.b.m
Alternate identifier
Related identifier https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4783
Contributor Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Distributor Research Data Management(NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research)
Distribution Date 2019-04-24
Production Date 2020-01-24
Dates
Collected
2004-06-08 until 2018-02-07
All field, laboratory and remote sensing data concerns this time period.
Funding References
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) (869.15.003)
The New Delta

Vlaams-Nederlandse Scheldecommissie (VNSC) (3109 1805)
Vegetation modelling HPP
Geographic Coverage