Microbially mediated nitrogen removal and retention in the York River Estuary

Denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) are important microbial processes determining the fate of nitrogen (N) in estuaries. This study examined these processes in sediments of the York River Estuary, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay, and investigated environmental and microbial drivers of the rates of denitrification and DNRA. Nitrate reduction followed a consistent pattern throughout the year and across the estuary with nitrogen removal, primarily through denitrification, decreasing from the head of the estuary to the mouth and nitrogen retention, through DNRA, following the opposite pattern. At the mouth of the estuary, nitrogen retention was consistently higher than nitrogen removal. Denitrification rates showed strong linear relationships with concentrations of organic matter, nitrate and chlorophyll a, and the abundance of the nirS gene. DNRA rates were best correlated with the relative abundance of three bacterial families, Anaerolineaceae,Ectothiorhodospiraceae and Prolixibacteraceae, which carry the nrfA gene. The controls responsible for retention or removal of N from an estuary are complex, involving both geochemical and microbial factors. The N retained within estuaries may support primary production and seasonal algae blooms and result in estuarine eutrophication.