Macrofaunal community structure and life histories in coastal lagoons
Barnes, R.S.K. (1994). Macrofaunal community structure and life histories in coastal lagoons, in: Kjerfve, B. (Ed.) Coastal lagoon processes. Elsevier Oceanography Series, 60: pp. 311-362. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0422-9894(08)70016-3 In: Kjerfve, B. (Ed.) (1994). Coastal lagoon processes. Elsevier Oceanography Series, 60. Elsevier: Amsterdam/Oxford/New York/Tokyo. ISBN 0-444-55556-0; e-ISBN 978-0-444-88258-5. XX, 577 pp., more In: Elsevier Oceanography Series. Elsevier: Oxford; New york; Amsterdam. ISSN 0422-9894, more |
| Abstract | The nature of the animals inhabiting coastal lagoons is analyzed and it is concluded that the characterization of faunas as ‘lagoonal’ is more an expression of the physiography of the habitat they happen to occupy than a statement of their biological identity. Also reviewed are the processes likely to structure the benthic animal communities of lagoons - both those determining the species present in any given lagoon and those responsible for the precise combination of species inhabiting any specific region within a system - with emphasis on studies conducted since 1979. Processes examined include: patterns of recruitment and colonization; predation (by infaunal species; small epibenthic crustaceans and juvenile fish; adult fish and birds); disturbance; adult/larval interactions; interference and exploitative competition; and environmental adversity. It is considered that lagoonal populations are often kept below the carrying capacity of their habitat, but as yet no study has assessed the relative contribution of each of the potential structuring forces on the long-term dynamics of any system. What we gained in the 1980s is a greater understanding of how some of the agents of mortality operate; we are no nearer to putting them in rank order of importance. In any event, most of the relevant work has been carried out in non-lagoonal environments: many more specifically lagoonal studies are a priority. Finally, the life-histories of lagoonal species are compared with those of their marine relatives. Few typically lagoonal adaptations are known, although there are some tantalizing glimpses of possible differences in the literature; again, more systematic comparisons of lagoonal and non-lagoonal animals are urgently needed. |
|
