Experimental evaluation of the influences of biogenic reworking on carbonate preservation in nearshore sediments

Laboratory experiments using two different species of marine infaunal deposit feeders have shown directly that macrofaunal activities influence sedimentary carbonate preservation. Feeding, burrowing and irrigation increase solute transport and solid phase reaction rates simultaneously, leading to more rapid carbonate dissolution than in sediments without fauna. These findings help to explain previously reported regular temporal fluctuations of foraminifera assemblages and spatial patterns of carbonate dissolution in nearshore deposits and represent one more example of how bioturbation accelerates elemental cycles in marine sediments.