Document of bibliographic reference 112695

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Trophic importance of subtidal metazoan meiofauna : evidence from in situ exclusion experiments on soft and rocky substrates

Abstract

In coastal marine ecosystems, predation might aVect spatial distribution and population dynamics of benthic assemblages. Here, by means of experimental exclusion of potential predators, we compared the eVects of epibenthic predation on metazoan meiofaunal assemblages on soft and rocky substrates. DiVerent patterns of abundance were observed in uncaged versus caged plots, across habitats. In caged soft substrates, the abundance of Nematodes, Copepods and Polychaetes increased by 56, 45, 57%, respectively, in the Wrst 3 months. An increase in the number of meiofaunal taxa was also observed. The exclusion of predators from rocky substrates showed less clear patterns. It did not aVect the number of taxa while a decrease in meiofaunal abundance was observed. Our results suggest that the exclusion of epibenthic predators had clear eVect on total metazoan meiofaunal abundance and on the number of taxa, only in soft bottoms. The diVerent impact of predation across habitats can be potentially explained by diVerences in terms of spatial variability and substrate complexity. We estimated that, coarsely, more than 75% of total metazoan meiofaunal production can be channeled to higher trophic levels through predation on soft-bottoms. Among meiofaunal taxa, Polychaetes and Nematodes provided the major contribution to benthic energy transfers. These results suggest the trophic relevance of metazoan meiofauna in coastal food webs and claim for the reWnement of further experiments for the quantiWcation of its role in diVerent ecological systems.

WebOfScience code

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000248189300012

Bibliographic citation

Danovaro, R.; Scopa, M.; Gambi, C.; Fraschetti, S. (2007). Trophic importance of subtidal metazoan meiofauna : evidence from in situ exclusion experiments on soft and rocky substrates. Mar. Biol. (Berl.) 152(2): 339-350. dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0696-y

location created

Polytechnic University of Marche

Is peer reviewed

true