Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
EU Network of Excellence

 
Main Menu

· Home
· Contacts
· Data Systems
· Documents
· FAQ
· Links
· MarBEF Open Archive
· Network Description
· Outreach
· Photo Gallery
· Quality Assurance
· Register of Resources
· Research Projects
· Rules and Guidelines
· Training
· Wiki
· Worldconference

 

Register of Resources (RoR)

 People  |  Datasets  |  Literature  |  Institutes  |  Projects 

[ report an error in this record ]basket (1): add | show Print this page

one publication added to basket [211271]
Active colonisation of disturbed sediments by deep-sea nematodes: evidence for the patch mosaic model
Gallucci, F.; Moens, T.; Vanreusel, A.; Fonseca, G. (2008). Active colonisation of disturbed sediments by deep-sea nematodes: evidence for the patch mosaic model. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 367: 173-183. dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps07537
In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. Inter-Research: Oldendorf/Luhe. ISSN 0171-8630; e-ISSN 1616-1599
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keyword
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Infauna migration; Disturbance; Patch dynamics; Microcosm experiments;

Authors  Top 
  • Gallucci, F.
  • Moens, T., more
  • Vanreusel, A., more
  • Fonseca, G.

Abstract
    An on-board experiment was performed during a research cruise to investigate the ability of deep-sea nematode species to actively colonise defaunated sediments. Small cylinders of 500 pm wire mesh filled with defaunated sediment were inserted into microcosms containing sediment with indigenous meiofauna collected from 1300 m depth in the Arctic Ocean. The defaunated sediments were either enriched with the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii, or remained unenriched. Samples from the defaunated sediment were taken after 9 and 17 d. As controls, microcosms with sediment containing the indigenous meiofauna but without an internal cylinder were also sampled at each time interval. Nematodes colonised both enriched and unenriched sediments with abundances of up to 20% of the controls. Irrespective of the time of sampling, abundance and number of species were significantly higher in the enriched treatment, suggesting that the presence of food enhances colonisation and resilience. Nematode assemblages in the defaunated sediments were species-rich and differed from the controls. The majority of colonising species were rare or undetectable in the controls, suggesting that episodic disturbances may be necessary for their persistence in deep sea sediments. Colonisation was in part determined by species characteristics such as size and motility. At the same time, a large number of different species colonised the empty cylinders, resulting in poor similarity in community composition between replicates, particularly between samples enriched with diatoms. Our results indicate a poor predictability of community composition of recently disturbed sediments despite highly reproducible abundance and diversity patterns and lends experimental support to the existence of a spatio-temporal mosaic that emerges from highly localised colonisation patterns.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors 


If any information here appears to be incorrect, please contact us
Back to Register of Resources
 
Quick links

MarBEF WIKI

Erasmus Mundus Master of Science in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (EMBC)
Outreach

Science
Responsive Mode Programme (RMP) - Marie Nordstrom, copyright Aspden Rebecca

WoRMS
part of WoRMS logo

ERMS 2.0
Epinephelus marginatus Picture: JG Harmelin

EurOBIS

Geographic System

Datasets

 


Web site hosted and maintained by Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) - Contact data-at-marbef.org