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Effects of macroinfauna sediment disturbance on nematode vertical distribution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2006

T.K. Pinto
Affiliation:
Departamento de Zoologia—Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected]
M.C. Austen
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UK
C.E. Bemvenuti
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Invertebrados Bentônicos Fundação Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Avenida Itália, km 8, s/n, Carreiros, Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Within a subtropical estuary in southern Brazil, an experiment was carried out to test the hypotheses that the deposit feeding macrofaunal polychaete Laeonereis acuta affects nematode community structure and the vertical distribution patterns of nematodes in sediments. Inclusion cages were deployed with two different densities of the polychaete and meiofaunal nematodes were sampled from six different vertical sediment layers: 0–1, 1–2, 2–4, 4–6, 6–8 and 8–10 cm depth. Although L. acuta did change the vertical distribution of both nematode and trophic groups in the sediment, allowing nematodes to inhabit deeper sediment layers, there were no apparent effects of different polychaete densities.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2006 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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