Abstract
Summary Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and nitrite‐dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n‐damo) play important roles in nitrogen and carbon cycling in fresh waters but we do not know how these two processes compete for their common electron acceptor, nitrite. Here, we investigated the spatial distribution of anammox and n‐damo across a range of permeable riverbed sediments. Anammox activity and gene abundance were detected in both gravel and sandy riverbeds and showed a simple, common vertical distribution pattern, while the patterns in n‐damo were more complex and n‐damo activity was confined to the more reduced, sandy riverbeds. Anammox was most active in surficial sediment (0–2 cm), coincident with a peak in hzs A gene abundance and nitrite. In contrast, n‐damo activity peaked deeper down (4–8 cm) in the sandy riverbeds, coincident with a peak in n‐damo 16S rRNA gene abundance and higher methane concentration. Pore water nitrite, methane and oxygen were key factors influencing the distribution of these two processes in permeable riverbeds. Furthermore, both anammox‐ and n‐damo‐ activity were positively correlated with denitrification activity, suggesting a role for denitrification in supplying both processes with nitrite. Our data reveal spatial separation between anammox and n‐damo in permeable riverbed sediments that potentially avoids them competing for nitrite.