Linking bacterial community shifts to background nutrients and pulse nutrient addition in surface sediments and macrofauna burrows

Changes in sediment bacterial communities to in situ nitrogen enrichment were explored in thirteen intertidal estuarine sites, each with different levels of organic matter content. The effects of nitrogen enrichment on diversity, richness, and composition of local bacterial communities were independently assessed in the sediment surface (0-1 cm depth) and biofilms within macrofaunal burrows.