Comparison of the response of meio- and macrobenthos to disturbance and organic enrichment

The effects of the interaction between physical disturbance and organic enrichment with respect to various aspects of subtidal meiobenthic nematode community structure have been examined in a large-scale mesocosm experiment. The relationship between meiobenthic and macrobenthic community structure w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology 2006-03, Vol.330 (1), p.96-104
Main Authors: Austen, Melanie Clare, Widdicombe, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Disturbance
Diversity
Enrichment
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Interactive
Macrobenthos
Marine
Meiobenthos
Mesocosm
Nematoda
Nematodes
Sea water ecosystems
Synecology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The effects of the interaction between physical disturbance and organic enrichment with respect to various aspects of subtidal meiobenthic nematode community structure have been examined in a large-scale mesocosm experiment. The relationship between meiobenthic and macrobenthic community structure within this experiment has been explored. Meiofauna and macrofauna showed similar and strongly related responses. Highest diversity was observed in treatment combinations of low levels of disturbance and enrichment and this supports the “Dynamic Equilibrium Model” of Huston [Huston, M.A., 1979. A general hypothesis of species diversity. Am. Nat. 113, 81–101.]. Faunal community structure was more variable at treatment combinations of low levels of disturbance and high levels of organic enrichment. Physical disturbance subdued the effects of high levels of nutrient enrichment. The meio-macrobenthic comparison has been extended to other studies where both meiofaunal and macrofaunal responses have been determined. The response of meiobenthos is often, but not always, the same as that of macrobenthos. These inconsistencies can probably be explained by the constraints of the experimental design of the mesocosm, where macrobenthic recruitment is not possible, as well as the different ecology of these two faunal groups.
ISSN:0022-0981
1879-1697
DOI:10.1016/j.jembe.2005.12.019