The scientists investigated whether soil disturbance, or “bioturbation” by fiddler crabs affects the sediment microbiome and consequently plant growth in an arid mangrove ecosystem on the Red Sea. “The rationale behind this research is that the continuous soil reworking by the ‘animal engineers’ creates an ‘oxygenation halo’ around the burrows, which makes the sediment more hospitable to bacteria that, in turn, help the plant with nutrients,” explained study senior author Daniele Daffonchio, a professor of Marine Science at KAUST.
Burrowing crabs bring beneficial bacteria to mangrove forests
Burrowing crabs bring beneficial bacteria to mangrove forests