Sponge borings (Entobia) and encrusters on a modern bivalve shell, North Carolina.
IUPAC definition
This definition describes the chemical process of bioerosion, specifically as it applies to biorelated polymers and applications, rather than the geological concept, as covered in the article text.
Surface degradation resulting from the action of cells.
Note 1: Erosion is a general characteristic of biodegradation by cells that adhere to a surface and the molar mass of the bulk does not change, basically.
Note 2: Chemical degradation can present the characteristics of cell-mediated erosion when the rate of chemical chain scission is greater than the rate of penetration of the cleaving chemical reagent, like diffusion of water in the case of hydrolytically degradable polymer, for instance.
Note 3: Erosion with constancy of the bulk molar mass is also observed in the case of in vitro abiotic enzymatic degradation.
Note 4: In some cases, bioerosion results from a combination of cell-mediated and chemical degradation, actually.[1]
Bioerosion describes the breakdown of hard ocean substrates – and less often terrestrial substrates – by living organisms. Marine bioerosion can be caused by mollusks, polychaete worms, phoronids, sponges, crustaceans, echinoids, and fish; it can occur on coastlines, on coral reefs, and on ships; its mechanisms include biotic boring, drilling, rasping, and scraping. On dry land, bioerosion is typically performed by pioneer plants or plant-like organisms such as lichen, and mostly chemical (e.g. by acidic secretions on limestone) or mechanical (e.g. by roots growing into cracks) in nature.
Bioerosion of coral reefs generates the fine and white coral sand characteristic of tropical islands. The coral is converted to sand by internal bioeroders such as algae, fungi, bacteria (microborers) and sponges (Clionaidae), bivalves (including Lithophaga), sipunculans, polychaetes, acrothoracican barnacles and phoronids, generating extremely fine sediment with diameters of 10 to 100 micrometres. External bioeroders include sea urchins (such as Diadema) and chitons. These forces in concert produce a great deal of erosion. Sea urchin erosion of calcium carbonate has been reported in some reefs at annual rates exceeding 20 kg/m2.
Fish also erode coral while eating algae. Parrotfish cause a great deal of bioerosion using well developed jaw muscles, tooth armature, and a pharyngeal mill, to grind ingested material into sand-sized particles. Bioerosion of coral reef aragonite by parrotfish can range from 1017.7±186.3 kg/yr (0.41±0.07 m3/yr) for Chlorurus gibbus and 23.6±3.4 kg/yr (9.7 10−3±1.3 10−3 m2/yr) for Chlorurus sordidus (Bellwood, 1995).
Bioerosion is also well known in the fossil record on shells and hardgrounds (Bromley, 1970), with traces of this activity stretching back well into the Precambrian (Taylor & Wilson, 2003). Macrobioerosion, which produces borings visible to the naked eye, shows two distinct evolutionary radiations. One was in the Middle Ordovician (the Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution; see Wilson & Palmer, 2006) and the other in the Jurassic (see Taylor & Wilson, 2003; Bromley, 2004; Wilson, 2007). Microbioerosion also has a long fossil record and its own radiations (see Glaub & Vogel, 2004; Glaub et al., 2007).
^Vert, Michel; Doi, Yoshiharu; Hellwich, Karl-Heinz; Hess, Michael; Hodge, Philip; Kubisa, Przemyslaw; Rinaudo, Marguerite; Schué, François (2012). "Terminology for biorelated polymers and applications (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)" (PDF). Pure and Applied Chemistry. 84 (2): 377–410. doi:10.1351/PAC-REC-10-12-04. S2CID 98107080. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
IUPAC definition This definition describes the chemical process of bioerosion, specifically as it applies to biorelated polymers and applications, rather...
rocky coasts, and seagrass beds, and can play a significant role in bioerosion. Parrotfish are named for their dentition, which is distinct from other...
Sponges (also known as sea sponges), the members of the phylum Porifera (/pəˈrɪfərəˌ pɔː-/ pər-IF-ər-ə, por-; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal...
on or in the substrate by an organism. For example, burrows, borings (bioerosion), urolites (erosion caused by evacuation of liquid wastes), footprints...
organization (CERF) Erosion – Natural processes that remove soil and rock Bioerosion – Erosion of hard substrates by living organisms Blowhole – Hole at the...
originating in tropical and sub-tropical marine environments primarily from bioerosion of limestone skeletal material of marine organisms. Often, this is due...
Jurassic carbonate hardground shows generations of oysters and extensive bioerosion, features incompatible with the conditions and timing postulated for the...
substrate itself, either boring into the skeletons (through the process of bioerosion) or living in pre-existing voids and crevices. Animals boring into the...
drill bit to cut a hole of circular cross-section Boring, a mechanism of bioerosion Boring, Maryland, U.S. Boring, Oregon, U.S. Boring Lava Field Boring,...
and diversity of bioeroding organisms. This is known as the Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution. It is marked by a sudden abundance of hard substrate trace...
appears first in the Lower Cambrian, was very prominent in the Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution, and is still commonly formed today. Trypanites is almost always...
Herrera-Escalante, T.; López-Pérez, R. A.; Leyte-Morales, G. E. (2005). "Bioerosion caused by the sea urchin Diadema mexicanum (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)...
coastlines, is boring, scraping and grinding of organisms, a process termed bioerosion. Sediment is transported along the coast in the direction of the prevailing...
Wisshak, Max; Tapanila, Leif (2 June 2008). Current Developments in Bioerosion. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783540775973. Archived from...
atmospheric carbon dioxide, the calcium carbonate decrease then enhances bioerosion and dissolution rate. The CT should have oligotrophic waters, so the light...
Torotoro National Park in Bolivia. Paleontology portal Geology portal Bioerosion – Erosion of hard substrates by living organisms Cryptospore – Fossilised...
phenomenon that occurs when small pits are created in rock as a result of the bioerosion induced by different organisms and/or microorganisms (for example, fungi...
organisms which bore into the rock by various means. This process is known as bioerosion. It is most common in the tropics, and it is known throughout the fossil...
sponge borings (Entobia) from the Pliocene of York River, Virginia, USA. Bioerosion Taylor, P. D.; Wilson, M. A. (2003). "Palaeoecology and evolution of marine...
change. The Cretaceous was also an important interval in the evolution of bioerosion, the production of borings and scrapings in rocks, hardgrounds and shells...
primary geomorphological effects of invasive animals are bioturbation, bioerosion, and bioconstruction. For example, invasions of the Chinese mitten crab...
sea, and undercuts that are mostly the result of biological activity or bioerosion at or a little above mean sea level. Some of the most dramatic of these...
around the test or shell protects it from abrasion, fragmentation and bioerosion. Ooimmuration also retains fine organic remains that would ordinarily...
very steep and can be near vertical. The walls are subject to erosion by bioerosion, or slumping. There are an estimated 9,477 submarine canyons on Earth...
in this habitat bores and grinds exposed rock through the process of bioerosion. Estuaries are also near shore and influenced by the tides. An estuary...
Global Information