Algal "gardening" behavior by nereid polychaetes: Effects on soft-bottom community structure
Woodin, S.A. (1977). Algal "gardening" behavior by nereid polychaetes: Effects on soft-bottom community structure. Mar. Biol. (Berl.) 44(1): 39-42. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf00386902
In: Marine Biology: International Journal on Life in Oceans and Coastal Waters. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 0025-3162; e-ISSN 1432-1793, meer
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| Author keywords |
Oxygenated, Community structure, Food supply, Sediment surface, Water layer |
| Abstract |
Nereid polychaetes (Nereis vexillosa and Platynereis bicanaliculata) attach pieces of drift algae to their tube surfaces. The presence of permanent algal cover increases the predictability of the food supply for at least the herbivores (including the nereids) and the deposit feeders, and modulates the temperature and salinity stresses of the marine intertidal soft-bottom environment. However, it may affect the access of organisms to the oxygenated water layers above the sediment surface. This is true for polychaetes that live head downwards in vertical tubes. It is suggested that the attachment behavior of the nereid polychaetes increases the ability of the plant to colonize habitats both temporally and spatially. |
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