Abstract Intertidal environments are highly dynamic and exhibit both regular and periodic fluctuations in environmental parameters. The interplay of these parameters controls the distribution and abundance of infaunal organisms resulting in sporadic bioturbation distributions that are well‐documented but not fully understood. This study investigates topographic controls on infaunal distributions at East Beach in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada. East Beach is a sandy intertidal flat characterized by sand dunes that give rise to two alternating shore‐parallel subenvironments: topographically high dune crests and topographically low interdunes. The dunes remain relatively fixed in their position between major storm events, resulting in geographically stable subenvironments. Photogrammetric reconstructions of dune surfaces are used to characterize surface features and quantify invertebrate burrow openings along dune profiles. This is supplemented by X‐ray radiography and examinations of porewater and organic matter content from the two subenvironments. These results show a clear inverse relationship between burrow abundance and elevation at the dune scale, with the interdunes displaying significantly higher bioturbation intensities compared to dune crests. The burrow distributions appear to be strongly influenced by water saturation, presumably due to its role in controlling oxygen availability and preventing desiccation. This research provides insights into the local factors controlling infaunal distributions and the impact of palaeo‐topography on bioturbation, particularly in intertidal settings. Additionally, these data assist in interpreting heterogeneous bioturbation distributions in the sedimentary record, which are normally not interpreted due to a paucity of analogue models developed in modern environments.

Scott Melnyk

Cody N. Lazowski

Shahin E. Dashtgard

Murray K. Gingras

Sedimentology

作为该领域的国际领导者，SEDIMENTOLOGY 发表了跨越沉积学、沉积地质学和沉积地球化学的开创性研究。涵盖的领域包括：实验和理论谷物运输；沉积物通量；现代和古代沉积环境；层序地层沉积物-生物相互作用；古土壤；成岩作用；稳定同位素地球化学；环境沉积学

As a leading international journal in the field of sedimentology, Sedimentology publishes pioneering research that spans sedimentology, sedimentary geology, and sedimentary geochemistry. The covered areas include experimental and theoretical grain transport, sediment flux, modern and ancient sedimentary environments, sediment-biota interactions in sequence stratigraphy, paleosols, diagenesis, stable isotope geochemistry, and environmental sedimentology.

作为沉积学领域的国际领导者，Sedimentology 发表了跨越沉积学、沉积地质学和沉积地球化学的开创性研究。涵盖的领域包括实验和理论的颗粒运输、沉积物通量、现代和古代沉积环境、层序地层中的沉积物与生物相互作用、古土壤、成岩作用、稳定同位素地球化学以及环境沉积学。

Category	Quartile
地球科学	2
地球科学, 地质学	1

Topographic controls on the distribution of bioturbation in an intertidal sandflat

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