Digestive environments of benthic macroinvertebrate guts: Enzymes, surfactants and dissolved organic matter

摘要

Hydrolytic enzyme activity, surfactancy, and dissolved organic matter in the digestive lumens of 19 benthic echinoderm and polychaete species were examined, using consistent and quantifiable methods. Enzyme activities were compared with those of extracellular enzymes from ambient sediments. Enzyme activities raged over five orders of magnitude, with averages decreasing in the order polychaetes ＞echinoderms＞ sediment.