High abundance of small zoobenthos around biogenic structures in tidal sediments of the Wadden Sea

Reise, Karsten

doi:10.1007/bf01995914

Cited by 119 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Our minicore examinations, however, give evidence that polychaete worm burrows are a preferred habitat of Leptonemella species, and the high population density reported by Jensen (1987a) adds to this suggestion. In general, there is a strong preference of the entire subsurface fauna for the vicinity of irrigated burrows (Reise 1981;Meyers et al 1987). In a comprehensive investigation of the oxygen/sulfide regime and nematodes associated with lugworm burrows in the intertidal, Wetzel et al (1995) conceived this habitat as permanently fluctuating, with drastic variations in the mm-range ideally meeting the requirements of 'sulfur bacteria'.…”

Section: Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Leptonemella species (Desmodoridae, Stilbonematinae), benthic marine nematodes with ectosymbiotic bacteria, from littoral sand of the North Sea island of Sylt: taxonomy and ecological aspects

Riemann

Thiermann

Bock

2003

Helgoland Marine Research

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Leptonemella species represent a dominant element of the nematode fauna in sulfidic, deep sediment layers on the sandy shore of Sylt. Based on collections sampled here in 1991-1999, a taxonomic treatise is presented on the three co-existing species, Leptonemella aphanothecae Gerlach, 1950, the closely related L. vicina sp. nov., and L. gorgo Gerlach, 1950. The high incidence of pseudohermaphrodites in the material, mostly functional females with a male copulatory apparatus, is remarkable. The highest population densities of Leptonemella spp. (up to 73 individuals/10 ml sand) were found near polychaete burrows. Because of the great spatial and temporal variations in the oxygen/sulfide regime of these microhabitats, and because of the strong adhesive capabilities of Leptonemella spp., which can anchor themselves firmly to sand grains using caudal glands, we propose that a hemisessile life strategy is employed by these nematodes to fulfill the metabolic needs of their sulfide-oxidizing ectosymbionts.

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Section: Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Leptonemella species (Desmodoridae, Stilbonematinae), benthic marine nematodes with ectosymbiotic bacteria, from littoral sand of the North Sea island of Sylt: taxonomy and ecological aspects

Riemann

Thiermann

Bock

2003

Helgoland Marine Research

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“…H. filiformis lives upside-down in the sediment and causes an almost homogenous vertical distribution pattern for polychaetes in the mussel bed. In the sandflat, biogenic structures by polychaetes and bivalves provide endobenthic microhabitats, accommodating further infauna (Reise, 1981(Reise, , 1983. This endobenthic habitat heterogeneity is missing beneath the mussel cover.…”

Section: Infaunal Distribution Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mussel beds — amensalism or amelioration for intertidal fauna?

Dittmann

1990

Helgolander Meeresunters

121

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The faunal assemblages of a mussel bed (Mytilus edufis L.) and ambient sand_flat were compared to study how a bioherm of suspension feeding organisms affects benthic communities in a tidal flat. During a survey of mussel beds in the Wadden Sea at the island of Sylt {North Sea}, a total of 52 macrofaunal species and 44 meiobenthic plathelminth species were detected. They occupied different microhabitats in the mussel bed. 56 % of the macrofauna species were dwelling in the sediment beneath the mussels and 42 % were epibenthic or epiphytic. The latter were restricted in their occurrence to the mussel bed. Along a transect from the sandflat to the mussel bed the mean species densities of macrofauna did not differ significantly, while abundances were significantly lower in the mussel bed than in the sandflat. The composition of the assemblages shifted from a dominance of Polychaeta in the sandflat to Oligochaeta in the mussel bed. Surface filter-feeding polychaetes of the sandflat (Tharyx mariom) were displaced by deposit feeding polychaetes under the mussel cover (Capitella capitata, Heteromastus filiformis}. The total meiobenthic density was lower and single taxa (Ostracoda, Plathelminthes, Nematoda} were ~ignificantly less abundant in the mud of the mussel bed. The plathelminth assemblage was dominated by grazing species (Archaphanostoma agile}, and differed in community structure from a sandflat assemblage. An amensalistic relationship was found between the suspension-feeding mussels and suspensionfeeding infauna, while deposit-feeders were enhanced. The presence of epibenthic microhabitats results in a variety of trophic groups co-occurring in a mussel bed. This is hypothesized as trophic group amelioration and described as an attribute of heterotrophic reefs.

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“…Perception of habitat structure is of course scale-dependent, but complex seafloor habitats are generally thought of as distinct features such as reefs, kelp forests or seagrass beds. This is despite the fact that organisms that modify the 3-dimensional structure above and below the sediment surface are widely distributed and can affect benthic community structure (e.g., Rhoads et al 1977, Reise 1981, van Blaricom 1982, Woodin 1983, Luckenbach 1987, Dame 1993, Graf & Rosenberg 1997, Green et al 1998.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fishing disturbance and marine biodiversity: the role of habitat structure in simple soft-sediment systems

Thrush¹,

Hewitt²,

Funnell³

et al. 2001

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Broad-scale anthropogenic disturbances that reduce the density of epifauna and homogenise surficial sediments can have important consequences for seafloor biodiversity. We investigated the habitat structure and macrofaunal diversity of relatively simple soft-sediment habitats over a number of spatial scales (cm to km) to identify the role of habitat structure in influencing macrobenthic diversity and to assess the validity of using habitat structure as a surrogate measure for biodiversity. We sampled 10 locations with differences in habitat structure using a sampling design that nested macrobenthic core samples within videoed transects of the seafloor. This allowed us to determine relationships between observable habitat structure and macrobenthic diversity at a number of spatial scales. We characterised elements of habitat structure based on direct counts of surficial sediment characteristics and the presence of other immobile features, many of which were biogenic in origin. We also used multivariate measures (the relative multivariate dispersion, the mean and range of the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity along the transects) to characterise habitat structure at the transect scale. We developed regression models based on measures of habitat structure that explained 74 to 86% of the variance in macrobenthic diversity. This result suggests that removal of habitat structure in relatively low-structure soft-sediment systems will significantly decrease their biodiversity, and consequently that of the wider marine ecosystem.

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High abundance of small zoobenthos around biogenic structures in tidal sediments of the Wadden Sea

Cited by 119 publications

References 13 publications

Leptonemella species (Desmodoridae, Stilbonematinae), benthic marine nematodes with ectosymbiotic bacteria, from littoral sand of the North Sea island of Sylt: taxonomy and ecological aspects

Leptonemella species (Desmodoridae, Stilbonematinae), benthic marine nematodes with ectosymbiotic bacteria, from littoral sand of the North Sea island of Sylt: taxonomy and ecological aspects

Mussel beds — amensalism or amelioration for intertidal fauna?

Fishing disturbance and marine biodiversity: the role of habitat structure in simple soft-sediment systems

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