02416nas a2200265   4500008004100000245013200041210006900173260001200242300001200254490000700266520153500273653001301808653001701821653001401838653001901852653001301871653002401884653002201908100001901930700001801949700001401967700002501981700001902006856012502025       2005                        eng d00aSediment properties and bacterial community in burrows of the ghost shrimp <i>Pestarella tyrrhena </i>(Decapoda: Thalassinidea)0 aSediment properties and bacterial community in burrows of the gh  c2005///  a181-1900 v383 aChemical properties of burrow wall sediment from burrows of the thalassinidean shrimp Pestarella (=Callianassa) tyrrhena located at Vravrona Bay (Aegean Sea, Greece) were studied and found to be very different from the sediment surface and ambient anoxic sediment. P. tyrrhena burrow walls had significantly higher amounts of silt and clay, while total organic carbon (TOC) was up to 6 times higher than in surrounding sediment. Chlorophyll a (chl a) accounted for a small fraction of TOC and showed similar values in burrow walls and surface sediment, whereas the low chl a: chl a + phaeopigment ratio indicated the presence of more fresh material in the latter. Biopolymers (carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) were 4 to 11 times higher in burrow walls than in the surrounding sediment, accounting for 47 % of TOC. The low protein: carbohydrate ratio indicated that the high TOC in the burrow walls was caused by the presence of aged detritus of low nutritional quality, such as seagrass detritus. The distinct conditions along the burrow wall also affected the bacterial community and resulted in a 10-fold increase of bacterial abundance. Molecular fingerprints of the bacterial communities showed that the bacterial composition of the burrow wall was more similar to the ambient anoxic sediment and showed less seasonal change than the sediment surface. These results suggest that burrow walls have distinct properties and should not be considered merely as a simple extension of the sediment surface. © Inter-Research 2005.10abacteria10aBioturbation10aCrustacea10aorganic matter10aPCR-DGGE10aPestarella tyrrhena10aSeagrass detritus1 aPapaspyrou, S.1 aGregersen, T.1 aCox, R.P.1 aThessalou-Legaki, M.1 aKristensen, E.  uhttps://icgf.myspecies.info/content/sediment-properties-and-bacterial-community-burrows-ghost-shrimp-pestarella-tyrrhena