Macrofauna on flood delta shoals in the Wadden Sea with an underground association between the lugwormArenicola marina and the amphipodUrothoe poseidonis

Lackschewitz, Dagmar; Reise, Karsten

doi:10.1007/bf02908744

Cited by 38 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…At our study site, the mean density of the lugworm A. marina was about five individuals per m 2 (quantified by counting the faecal casts on the experimental plots without a mesh). This is considerably lower than known from most intertidal flats in the Wadden Sea (Beukema 1976;Reise 2006, 2007), but similar to densities found on offshore flood delta shoals near the island of Sylt in the south-eastern North Sea (Lackschewitz and Reise 1998) and in the western Baltic Sea (Brey 1991). The latter studies reveal that already a low lugworm density may structure benthic assemblages, because their feeding pits and faecal mounds represent unstable structures avoided by many infauna organisms.…”

Section: Effects and Occurrence Of Bioturbatorssupporting

confidence: 67%

“…This is presumably due to methodical constrains. Largesized lugworms can dig their burrows as deep as 50 cm (Lackschewitz and Reise 1998). Therefore, it is difficult to collect them with traditional sampling gear like a Van Veen grab or an airlift system, which do not penetrate deep enough into the sediment.…”

Section: Effects and Occurrence Of Bioturbatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The absence of juvenile lugworms in areas with their adult conspecifics is known from temperate regions, too. There, it is assumed that juvenile A. marina suffer from physical disturbances and sediment property changes caused by their adult conspecifics resulting in different spatial usage of the habitat by juvenile and adult lugworms (Reise 1985;Lackschewitz and Reise 1998). The adult A. marina at our study site may have immigrated from nursery grounds outside the study area.…”

Section: Effects and Occurrence Of Bioturbatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do bioturbation and consumption affect coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom communities?

et al. 2015

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Biotic factors such as bioturbation and predation affect abundance and species composition of marine soft-bottom communities from tropical to temperate regions, but their impact has been rarely investigated in Arctic coastal systems. By conducting a factorial manipulative field experiment, we excluded the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina and predacious consumers from a sedimentary nearshore area in Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen) for 70 days to explore their role in structuring the benthic community. The removal of A. marina caused an increase in average species number by 25 %, a doubling increase in the average number of individuals and an increase in dry mass of benthic organisms by, on average, 73 % in comparison with untreated areas. Additionally, community composition was significantly modified by lugworm exclusion resulting in higher average densities of the cumacean Lamprops fuscatus (4.2-fold), the polychaete worms Euchone analis (3.7-fold) and Pygospio cf. elegans (1.5-fold), the bivalve Crenella decussata (2.8-fold) and the amphipod Crassicorophium crassicorne (1.2-fold), which primarily contribute to the observed differences. Consumer exclusion, by contrast, showed no effects on the response variables. This result was independent from bioturbation due to missing interaction between both biotic factors. We conclude that present levels of bioturbation may considerably affect Arctic coastal soft-bottom communities. In contrast, predation by macro-epibenthic consumers currently seems to be of minor importance. This might change in a predicted warmer Arctic with assumed higher predator abundances and a northward expansion of boreal consumers.

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Section: Effects and Occurrence Of Bioturbatorssupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Effects and Occurrence Of Bioturbatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effects and Occurrence Of Bioturbatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do bioturbation and consumption affect coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom communities?

et al. 2015

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“…Arenicola marina was found to have signiWcant positive eVects on the abundance of several other meio-and macrobenthic species around the burrow (Reise and Ax 1979;Lackschewitz and Reise 1998), while sedentary species near the surface were negatively aVected (Flach and de Bruin 1993;Zipperle and Reise 2005). 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).…”

Section: Lugworms Inhibit Tube-building Polychaetesmentioning

confidence: 98%

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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“…The lack of large individuals in a lugworm population may be associated with premature mortality or adult migration into subtidal locations (Lackschewitz and Reise 1998;Reise et al 2001). In the present study, there was no evidence of either pattern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lugworm (Abarenicola affinis) in seagrass and unvegetated habitats

2015

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In Otago, southern New Zealand, the lugworm Abarenicola affinis resides in neighbouring tidal inlets with and without seagrass (Zostera muelleri). A comparison of abundance, body size and biomass of A. affinis between seagrass habitat (Papanui Inlet) and unvegetated habitat (Hoopers Inlet) showed little seasonal variation of these parameters in each habitat and relatively similar abundances between both habitats. In contrast, lugworm biomass was considerably lower in the seagrass habitat due to the lack of large individuals compared with unvegetated habitat. In the seagrass habitat, there was a significant negative influence of Z. muelleri below-ground biomass on abundance and biomass of A. affinis, indicating that seagrass affected lugworm burrowing and/or feeding processes. In contrast to the unvegetated habitat, where lugworms spread relatively evenly across the intertidal area, lugworms were mostly restricted to the upper intertidal zone in the seagrass habitat. The findings suggest that the extensive seagrass bed in the mid and low intertidal zones of Papanui Inlet limited lugworm distribution in an otherwise suitable habitat. Whereas small lugworms colonised seagrass areas, the largest individuals occurred only in unvegetated sediment and seemed to be more hampered by the presence of seagrass than smaller individuals. The findings highlight negative feedback between antagonistic ecosystem engineers, with the potential of seagrass physical structures (autogenic engineering) to impact negatively on lugworm activity (allogenic engineering).

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Macrofauna on flood delta shoals in the Wadden Sea with an underground association between the lugwormArenicola marina and the amphipodUrothoe poseidonis

Cited by 38 publications

References 14 publications

Do bioturbation and consumption affect coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom communities?

Do bioturbation and consumption affect coastal Arctic marine soft-bottom communities?

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

Lugworm (Abarenicola affinis) in seagrass and unvegetated habitats

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