A field examination was conducted on a subtidal population of the five-slotted sand dollar Mellita quinquiesperforata and its impact on the resident benthic community. The mean monthly density of the sand-dollar population was very high in the beginning of the investigation (35.6/0.25 m('2)), declined sharply for six months, and then was steady for the remaining two years of the study (range 3-7/.025m('2)). The spatial dispersion, growth rate, and recruitment pattern of the population appear related to depth. / The major meiofaunal taxa generally were unaffected by the passage of sand dollar. Recently, (i.e., minutes) disturbed sediments contained significantly higher total nematode and lower total foraminifera abundances. In addition, only one species of harpacticoid copepod, Halectinosoma sp., was found in significantly lower abundances within sand-dollar trails. All other species were apparently unaffected. / The infaunal polychaete and bivalve assemblages present within the sand-dollar bed similarly demonstrated limited effects as a result of sand-dollar disturbance. The sand-dollar bed was dominated by burrowing polychaete families, such as Paranidae, Pilargidae, and Syllidae. Spiondae was the dominant tube-building polychaete family. The bivalves were dominated by Tellinidae. In general, the majority of infauna were resilient to sand-dollar movement. Only two species were negatively affected by sand-dollar movement: the spionid polychaete Prionospio pygmaea and the tellinid bivalve Tellina sp. A. In both cases, small individuals demonstrated higher abundances within sand-dollar-free patches. In general, it appeared that post-settlement interactions resulted in the lower abundances observed within the sand-dollar bed. Live observations revealed that the sand dollar did not cause the immediate mortality of either the spionid or the tellinid. Frequent feeding disruption was postulated as the possible mechanism causing the reduced abundances. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: B, page: 1821. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75829 |
| Contributors | REIDENAUER, JEFFREY ALAN., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 188 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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