Disturbance of benthic infauna by sediment-reworking activities of the lugworm Arenicola marina

Flach, Els

doi:10.1016/0077-7579(92)90048-j

Cited by 89 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Negative eVects of this bioturbator on tube-building species were mainly attributed to unstable conditions in the presence of lugworm feeding activity (Brey 1991;Flach 1992). This is generally supported by observations on the experimental plots in this study: species with permanent tubes or burrows were more abundant on lugworm exclusion plots, while abundances of free-burrowing species decreased (see also Volkenborn and Reise 2007).…”

Section: Lugworms Inhibit Tube-building Polychaetessupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Numerous examples indicate this mutual exclusion of one mobility group by the other: dense aggregations of thalassinidean shrimps were found to exclude several sedentary species, such as bivalves (Peterson 1977), tube-building polychaetes (Posey 1986) or seagrasses (Siebert and Branch 2006). The same is true for bioturbating lugworms which inhibit tubicolous worms (Wilson 1981;Volkenborn and Reise 2007), amphipods (Flach 1992) and rooted plants (van Wesenbeeck et al 2007). On the other hand, dense aggregations of tube-building species or seagrasses may considerably reduce the abundances of burrowing species (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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Sediment destabilizing and stabilizing bio-engineers on tidal flats: cascading effects of experimental exclusion

2008

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Bioturbating lugworms (Arenicola marina)were excluded from 400 m² plots of intertidal sand which initiated sequences of direct and indirect changes in the structure of the benthic community. The sessile, tube-building species Polydora cornuta and Lanice conchilega took advantage of the absence of lugworms and settled preferentially on lugworm exclusion plots. The protruding tubes provided attachment for an ephemeral development of algal tufts (Berkeleya colonies and Enteromorpha thalli) which in turn enhanced settlement of the juvenile drifting clams Mya arenaria and Macoma balthica. This causal chain of enhanced bivalve settlement in the presence of aboveground structures, like animal tubes and algae, on lugworm exclusion plots occurred in 2 years at diVerent tidal zones with diVerent tube builders, algae and juvenile clams. A signiWcant response of L. conchilega in a year with relatively low lugworm abundances at the entire site suggests that not only the actual absence of large bioturbators was responsible for the establishment of tube-dwelling species, but also a cumulative change of the sediment in exclusion plots since the onset of the experiment. While the sediment on lugworm plots remained permeable, Wne particles and organic matter accumulated at exclusion plots. It is suggested that these diVerences in sediment characteristics were the product of divergent benthic engineering by sediment destabilizing lugworms on control plots and sediment stabilizing species on exclusion plots. Cumulative changes of the sedimentary habitat and cascading eVects in the benthic community may explain the persistence of patches that are dominated by either sediment stabilizing or destabilizing species in the assemblage mosaic of intertidal sediments.

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Section: Lugworms Inhibit Tube-building Polychaetessupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Sediment destabilizing and stabilizing bio-engineers on tidal flats: cascading effects of experimental exclusion

2008

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“…In the Wadden Sea, the number of M. arenaria recruits was found to be negatively correlated to the abundance of the lugworm Arenicola marina, which is a dominant bioturbator on the intertidal flats of that area (Flach 1992). However, lugworms are not characteristic of the investigated locations in the White Sea (Maximovich 1989a;Maximovich et al 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life history characteristics of the clam Mya arenaria in the White Sea

Maximovich

Guerassimova

2003

Helgoland Marine Research

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Dynamics of Mya arenaria beds in two bights of the Chupa Inlet (Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea) were studied on a long-term basis. Observations were carried out at 1-to 3-year intervals from 1979 up to 1999. The studied soft-shell clam beds were characterised by a substantial instability of age structure. Since 1988, only one year-class has dominated in the beds while other generations have been scarce and recruitment was not observed. This pattern of Mya bed dynamics was related neither to interannual environmental changes nor to differential reproduction success or predation effects in the benthic assemblages. Favourable conditions for spat formation in 1988 (low abundance of other M. arenaria generations), as well as for juvenile survival during the following winter, resulted in high abundance of juveniles in both investigated locations in 1989. The mortality rate (m) in this 1988 generation varied throughout the period of investigation and was related to age. The mortality level decreased for the first 2-4 years of the life cycle, then stabilised for the next 3-4 years, and eventually increased in subsequent years. Overall m values ranged from 0 to 1.68 year -1 . The oldest specimens observed were 17 years old and had a maximum shell length of 79 mm. Significant differences in average growth rates were observed between molluscs of different locations.

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“…Sediment structure is mainly changed by re-working activities of the lugworm Arenicola marina (Cadge, 1976). Field experiments involving manipulation of lugworm abundance showed that the presence of lugworms in densities of about 30 or more per m 2 has a significantly negative effect on the abundance of Macoma of spat size (Flach, 1992), Such high densities of adult lugworms hardly ever occur above MTL, b~t are frequent at tidal flats below this level (Figs 3 and 4 of Beukema & de Vlas, 1979). The highest densities of adult Macoma also occur at elevations below MTL {Fig.…”

Section: First-summer Macomamentioning

confidence: 99%

Successive changes in distribution patterns as an adaptive strategy in the bivalveMacoma balthica (L.) in the Wadden sea

Beukema

1993

Helgolander Meeresunters

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During their first year in the Wadden Sea, high proportions of the tidal-flat populations of the telhnid bivalve Macoma balthica (L.) redistribute twice: immediately after their settlement in late spring, the postlarvae show a net transportation in a shoreward direction -whereas in the subsequent winter, the grown spat move in the reverse direction. As a consequence of these two periods of high mobihty, distribution patterns shift twice: though initial settlement takes place mainly in the lower half of the intertidal, most spat grow to a size of ~-0.5 cm in the upper half of it, whereas most adults live in the middle and lower zones. The successive distribution patterns of spat and older Macoma are described in detail for Balgzand, an extensive tidal-flat area in the westernmost part of the Wadden Sea. Long-term observations in this area and pubhshed evidence from other areas are used to evaluate the suitability of different tidal zones as a habitat for successive life stages of Macoma. For spat, the upper zone is a more favourable habitat than the lower, because predation pressure (mainly from shrimp) and disturbance are less and growth is more rapid. For adults, the upper parts are no longer a favourable habitat, because the few animals that stay suffer from high parasite load, low survival, slow growth and low reproductive output, tt is concluded that in their successive life stages the majority of M. balthica live at the intertidal level most favourable to them. The strategy of timely shifts tO areas more suitable to the next life stage contributes to the success of the species: it is the most widespread and common (and one of the most stable) macrozoobenthic species in the Wadden Sea.

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Disturbance of benthic infauna by sediment-reworking activities of the lugworm Arenicola marina

Cited by 89 publications

References 7 publications

Sediment destabilizing and stabilizing bio-engineers on tidal flats: cascading effects of experimental exclusion

Sediment destabilizing and stabilizing bio-engineers on tidal flats: cascading effects of experimental exclusion

Life history characteristics of the clam Mya arenaria in the White Sea

Successive changes in distribution patterns as an adaptive strategy in the bivalveMacoma balthica (L.) in the Wadden sea

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