Form, function and physics: The ecology of biogenic stabilization

Abstract

The effect of biological cohesion on the behaviour of sediments is gaining increasing notice. This is partly sup-ported by ecological theory in terms of the role of organisms as “ecosystem engineers” and the associated dis-cussion of “niche construction”, suggesting an evolutionary role for habitat modification by biological action. In addition there is a strong societal and policy drive toward the “ecosystem approach” supporting an inte-grated examination of the functional roles of biota in selected habitats. In this context the increasing recogni-tion of the importance of biological activity in the mediation the erosion, transport, deposition and consolida-tion (ETDC) cycle of sediments is important and advances in technology will improve our ability to examine these effect under their natural settings. This will shortly be combined with vastly enhanced molecular tools that will allow the discrimination of microbial biodiversity and examination of their metabolism contribution to ecosystem function. This may lead to a step-change in our ability to research the influence of microbiota on natural sediment dynamics and opens an exciting era for new interdisciplinary research.