Document of bibliographic reference 312921

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Book chapters

BibLvlCode

AM

Title

Marine and estuarine nematodes in South Africa

Abstract

Free-living nematodes are present in all marine and estuarine environments around South Africa. They are most common in sediments, comprising up to 92 % of the living carbon community. Nematodes are grouped with other marine and estuarine organisms that are less than 1 mm in size but greater than 50 μm and are collectively referred to as meiofauna. A total of 338 marine and estuarine nematode species have been recorded from South Africa of which 30 are endemic. A number of factors affect meiofaunal community structure including particle size of the sediment, organic matter content, salinity, temperature, redox potential, oxygen concentration and, on exposed sandy beaches, desiccation and wave action. The proportion of nematodes within the meiofauna component increased from 20 % on the east coast to 60 % on the south coast in the Port Elizabeth area on sandy shores. A similar study at Robben Island, off the west coast of South Africa, showed nematodes to represent more than 86 % of the meiofauna. Most of the local research on nematodes has been conducted in estuaries that are permanently open. As on sea shores, nematodes dominated the meiofauna in these estuaries, and their abundance was affected by particle size, oxygen and desiccation. Research at Saldanha Bay in South Africa is also referred to and shows that estuarine nematodes can be used as biomonitors. High concentrations of heavy metals below the rafts existed, and nematode fauna was dominated by a Sabatieria sp. Away from the raft, Microlaimus sp. was the dominant genus, and the substrate had significantly lower concentrations of heavy metals.

Bibliographic citation

Vosloo, M.C. (2017). Marine and estuarine nematodes in South Africa, in: Fourie, H. et al. Nematology in South Africa: a view from the 21st century. pp. 495-519. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44210-5_24

Topic

Marine

Fresh water

Brakish water