Role of meiofauna in estuarine soft‐bottom habitats*

Wiley - Tập 24 Số 4 - Trang 327-343 - 1999
Bruce C. Coull1
1Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology & Coastal Research, Department of Biological Sciences and School of the Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA ( [email protected])

Tóm tắt

Meiofauna are ubiquitous in estuaries worldwide averaging 106 m−2. Abundance and species composition are controlled primarily by three physical factors: sediment particle size, temperature and salinity. While meiofauna are integral parts of estuarine food webs, the evidence that they are biologically controlled is equivocal. Top down (predation) control clearly does not regulate meiofaunal assemblages. Meiofauna reproduce so rapidly and are so abundant that predators cannot significantly reduce population size. Food quantity (bottom up control) also does not appear to limit meiofaunal abundance; there is little data on the effect of food quality. In estuarine sediments meiofauna: (i) facilitate biomineralization of organic matter and enhance nutrient regeneration; (ii) serve as food for a variety of higher trophic levels; and (iii) exhibit high sensitivity to anthropogenic inputs, making them excellent sentinels of estuarine pollution. Generally mineralization of organic matter is enhanced and bacterial production stimulated in the presence of meiofauna. Tannins from mangrove detritus in northern Queensland appear to inhibit meiofaunal abundance and therefore the role of meiofauna in breakdown of the leaves. Meiofauna, particularly copepods, are known foods for a variety of predators especially juvenile fish and the meiofaunal copepods are high in the essential fatty acids required by fish. The copepod’s fatty acid composition is like that of the microphytobenthos they eat; bacterial eaters (nematodes?) do not have the essential fatty acids necessary for fish. Most contaminants in estuaries reside in sediments, and meiofauna are intimately associated with sediments over their entire life‐cycle, thus they are increasingly being used as pollution sentinels. Australian estuarine meiofauna research has been concentrated in Queensland, the Hunter River estuarine system in New South Wales, and Victoria’s coastal lagoons. Studies in northern Queensland have primarily concentrated on the role of nematodes in mineralization of organic matter, whereas those from southern Queensland have concentrated on the role of meiofauna as food for fish and as bacterial grazers. The New South Wales studies have concentrated on the Hunter River estuary and on the structure and function of marine nematode communities. In Victoria, several fish have been shown to eat meiofauna. The Australian world of meiofaunal research has hardly been touched; there are innumerable opportunities for meiofaunal studies. In contaminated estuarine sediments reduced trophic coupling between meiofauna and juvenile fish is a basic ecological question of habitat suitability, but also a question with relevance to management of estuarine resources. Because meiofauna have short lifecycles, the effects of a contaminant on the entire life‐history can be assessed within a relatively short time. The use of modern molecular biology techniques to assess genetic diversity of meiofauna in contaminated vs uncontaminated sediments is a promising avenue for future research. Much of the important meiofaunal functions take place in very muddy substrata; thus, it is imperative to retain mudflats in estuaries.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1080/00785326.1993.10430374

Aarnio K. E., 1991, Benthic predation on shallow‐water macro‐ and meiofauna in the Baltic Sea: an experimental comparison between Pomatoschistus minutus (Pisces) and Saduria entomon (Crustacea)., Ann. Zool. Fennici., 28, 41

10.1002/iroh.19830680203

10.1007/BF00397678

10.4319/lo.1992.37.5.1018

10.1071/MF9860609

10.1357/002224088785113630

Alongi D. M., 1987, The role of soft‐bottom benthic communities in tropical mangrove ecosystems., Rev. Aquat. Sci., 1, 243

10.1016/0278-4343(89)90034-4

10.3354/meps040103

10.1007/BF00379293

Alongi D. M., 1989, Community dynamics of free‐living nematodes in some tropical mangrove and sandflat habitats., Bull. Mar. Sci., 46, 358

10.1007/BF00409574

10.3354/meps081229

AryaP.(1988)Micrometerology.Academic Press NY.

10.1016/0272-7714(89)90071-1

10.1016/0025-326X(94)90075-2

10.1163/003925995X00521

BamstedtU.(1986) Chemical content and energy content. In:The Biological Chemistry of Marine Copepods.(eds E. D. S. Corner & C. M. O’Hara) pp. 1–58. Clarendon Press Oxford.

10.3354/meps134315

Bell S. S., 1981, Meiofauna–macrofauna interactions in a high salt marsh habitat., Ecol. Monogr., 46, 127

10.1007/BF00344727

10.1016/0022-0981(91)90035-U

10.3354/meps137071

10.1016/0141-1136(94)00146-G

10.3354/meps068071

10.1016/0022-0981(95)00168-9

Carriker M. R., 1961, Interrelation of functional morphology, behavior and autecology in early stages of the bivalve Mercenaria mercenaria., J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 77, 168

10.2307/1352577

10.1016/0141-1136(90)90028-M

10.1016/0141-1136(94)90057-4

10.1002/etc.5620161120

10.1002/etc.5620100310

10.1016/0022-0981(95)00160-3

10.1016/0272-7714(89)90090-5

CoullB. C.(1988) The ecology of the marine meiofauna. In:Introduction to the Study of Meiofauna(eds R. P. Higgins & H. Thiel) pp. 18–38 Smithsonian Institute Press Washington DC.

10.2307/3226794

CoullB. C.&BellS. S.(1979) Perspectives of marine meiofaunal ecology. In:Ecological Processes in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems(ed. R. J. Livingston) pp. 189–216 Plenum NY.

Coull B. C., 1992, Pollution and meiofauna: field, laboratory and mesocosm studies., Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev., 30, 191

10.3354/meps024219

10.3354/meps125013

Cummins K. W., 1971, Caloric equivalents for investigations in ecological energetics., Int. Assoc. Theor. Appl. Limnol. Comm., 18, 1

10.3354/meps033139

10.1007/BF00008327

10.1071/MF9780497

10.1007/BF00213396

10.1002/etc.5620161219

DiPinto L. M., 1993, Lethal and sublethal effects of the sediment‐associated PCB Aroclor 1254 on a meiobenthic copepod., Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 12, 909, 10.1002/etc.5620121017

DiToro D. M., 1991, Technical basis for establishing sediment quality criteria for nonionic organic chemicals using equilibrium partitioning., Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 10, 1541, 10.1002/etc.5620101203

10.3354/meps045069

10.3354/meps045127

10.1016/0022-0981(89)90015-4

Escaravage V., 1990, The impact of the lagoonal shrimp Palaemonetes varians (Leach) on meiofauna in a temperate coastal impoundment., Acta Oecologia, 11, 409

10.3354/meps041295

Feller R. J., 1995, Non‐selective ingestion of meiobenthos by juvenile spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) and their daily ration., Vie Milieu, 45, 49

10.3354/meps087227

FindlayR. H.&DobbsF. C.(1993) Quantitative description of microbial communities using lipid analysis. In:Handbook of Methods in Aquatic Microbial Ecology(eds P. F. Kemp B. F. Sherr E. B. Sherr & J. J. Cole) pp. 271–84 Lewis Publishers Boca Raton FL.

10.3354/meps008161

10.2331/suisan.46.499

10.2307/1352696

10.1007/BF00397967

10.1111/j.1096-3642.1989.tb02259.x

10.1016/0272-7714(85)90022-8

10.1007/BF00376996

10.3354/meps045013

GiereO.(1993)Meiobenthology. the Microscopic Fauna in Aquatic Sediments.Springer‐Verlag Berlin.

10.1007/BF00392874

10.1002/etc.5620120817

10.1002/etc.5620150725

10.1163/156854084X00621

10.1071/AJZS007

10.1007/BF00301375

10.1007/BF00001027

Hedqvist‐Johnson K., 1991, The impact of the brown shrimp Crangon crangon L. on soft‐bottom meiofauna: an experimental approach., Ophelia, 34, 41, 10.1080/00785326.1991.10429705

Heip C., 1985, The ecology of marine nematodes., Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev., 23, 399

10.1016/0022-0981(95)00061-U

10.4319/lo.1994.39.4.0816

10.1016/0022-0981(84)90223-5

Hicks G. R. F., 1985, Biomass and production estimates for an estuarine meiobenthic copepod, with an instantaneous assessment of exploitation by flatfish predators., N.Z. J. Ecol., 8, 125

Hicks G. R. F., 1983, The ecology of marine meiobenthic harpacticoid copepods., Oceanog. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev., 21, 67

HigginsR. P.&ThielH.(1988)Introduction to the Study of Meiofauna.Smithsonian Institute Press Washington DC.

10.1016/S0022-0981(97)00265-7

10.1016/0272-7714(90)90001-8

10.1071/MF9850041

10.1071/MF9860729

10.1016/0025-326X(86)90058-5

Hodda M., 1987, Free‐living nematodes from Darwin mangroves., The Beagle, Occ. Pap. North. Terr. Mus. Arts Sci., 4, 7

10.1007/BF00391133

10.1139/cjfas-53-2-350

KanazawaA.(1985) Essential fatty acid and lipid requirements of fish. In:Nutrition and Feeding in Fish(eds C. B. Cowley A. M. Mackie & J. G. Bell) pp. 281–98 Academic Press NY.

10.1111/j.1095-8649.1993.tb00313.x

KennedyV. S.(1984)The Estuary as a Filter.Proceedings 7th Biennial International Estuarine Research Conference. Academic Press NY.

10.3354/meps045095

10.1016/0022-0981(91)90079-C

KrusbergL. R.(1971) Chemical composition of nematodes. In: Plant Parasitic Nematodes. Vol. 2 Cytogenetics Host–Parasite Interactions and Physiology(eds B. M. Zuckerman W. F. Mai & R. A. Rhode) pp. 213–34 Academic Press NY.

10.1017/S0025315400000679

10.1016/0025-326X(95)00104-U

MattilaJ. OlafssonE. R. JohanssonA.(1990) Predation effects of Crangon crangon benthic infauna of shallow sandy bottoms—an experimental study from southern Sweden. In:Trophic Relationships in the Marine Environment Proceedings 24th European Symposium Marine Biology(eds M. Barnes & R. N. Gibson) pp. 503–16. Aberdeen University of Press Aberdeen Scotland.

10.3354/meps086041

McCall J. N., 1995, Predation by juvenile fish on hyperbenthic meiofauna: a review with data on post‐larval Leiostomus xanthurus., Vie Milieu, 45, 61

10.1021/es00141a008

10.3354/meps018119

Montagna P. A., 1995, Rates of metazoan meiofaunal microbivory: a review., Vie Milieu, 45, 1

Montagna P. A., 1995, Meiofaunal and microbial trophic interactions in a natural submarine hydrocarbon seep., Vie Milieu, 45, 17

MoriarityD. J. W. PollardP. C. AlongiD. M. WilkinsonC. R. GrayJ. S.(1985a) Bacterial Productivity and trophic relationships with consumers on a coral reef. In:Proceedings 5th International Coral Reef Congress(eds B. Delesalle C. Gabrie H. M Vivien) vol. 5 pp. 457–67. Antenne‐Museum‐Ephe Moorea French Polynesia.

Moriarity D. J. W., 1985, Productivity of bacteria and microalgae and the effect of grazing by holothurians on a coral reef flat., Mar. Biol., 49, 211

MoverlyJ. H. RitzD. A. GarlandC.(1995)Development and Testing of a Meiobenthic Mesocosm System for Ecotoxicological Experiments.National Pulp Mills Research Program Technical Report no. 14. CSIRO Canberra.

10.3354/meps053051

10.1007/BF00006714

10.1163/187529287X00308

10.1163/187529284X00329

10.1163/002825988X00189

10.1016/0044-8486(94)90292-5

10.3354/meps065241

10.1111/j.1439-0485.1991.tb00258.x

Peterson C. H., 1991, Intertidal zonation of marine invertebrates in mud and sand., Am. Sci., 79, 236

10.1016/0022-0981(75)90003-9

10.1515/botm.1989.32.3.241

10.3354/meps142303

10.2307/1352434

10.1139/f83-288

10.1016/S0272-7714(05)80084-8

10.1016/0022-0981(92)90286-J

10.1007/BF00386899

10.1016/0022-0981(87)90167-5

10.3354/meps017183

SoyerJ.(1985) Mediterranean Sea meiobenthos. In:Mediterranean Marine Ecosystems(eds M. Moraitou‐Apostolopoulou & V. Kiortsis) pp. 85–108 Plenum NY.

10.1007/BF00301803

StottrupJ. G.(1993) First feeding in marine fish larvae— nutritional and environmental aspects. In:Physiological and Biochemical Aspects of Fish Development(eds B. T. Walther & H. J. Fyhn) pp. 123–31 University of Bergen Press Bergen.

10.3354/meps170261

10.1007/BF00347452

10.1007/BF00216236

TenoreK. R.&RiceD. L.(1980) A review of trophic factors affecting secondary production of deposit‐feeders. In:Marine Benthic Dynamics(eds K. R. Tenore & B. C. Coull) pp. 325–40 University of South Carolina Press SC.

10.1139/f77-089

Tietjen J. H., 1980, Microbial‐meiofaunal interrelationships: a review., Microbiology, 1980, 335

10.1016/0272-7714(91)90032-7

10.3354/meps068169

Toepfer C. S., 1995, Diet of juvenile fishes Citharichthys spilopterus, Symphurus plagiusa, and Gobionellus bolesoma., Bull. Mar. Sci., 56, 238

Tseung W. Y., 1984, Studies on the culture of the marine copepod Tigriopus californicus Mori and its value as a food for juveniles of the yellow‐fin sea bream (Acanthopagrus latus) (Houttuyn)., Crustaceana, 7, 381

Vilela M.‐H., 1992, Mass culture and nutritional quality of the marine copepod Tigriopus brevicornis Muller., Bol. Inst. Nac. Pescas, Lisboa, 17, 49

10.3354/meps108237

10.2307/1940076

10.2331/suisan.44.1223

10.1016/0044-8486(83)90296-X

10.3354/meps090113

10.1017/S0025315400031908

10.3354/meps046181

10.1017/S0025315400037528

10.1016/0022-0981(90)90196-J

10.3354/meps072025

10.3354/meps072037

10.1007/BF00388810

Wilson D. P., 1952, The influence of the nature of the substratum on the metamorphosis of the larvae of marine animals, especially the larvae of Ophelia bicornis Savigny., Annls. Inst. Oceanogr., 27, 49

10.3354/meps079225

10.1007/BF00013995

10.1007/BF00006831

Zander C. D., 1992, Feeding habits of Gobius auratus and other small‐sized benthic fish from the French Mediterranean coast under regard of some alternating parameters., Zool. Anz., 228, 220

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Wiley

Tập 24 Số 4

327-343

Thông tin tác giả