A thirteen month study was conducted in the coastal grassbeds of Apalachee Bay, Florida, to assess the influence of macrophyte species composition and biomass on distribution patterns of plant-associated crustacean assemblages. Crustaceans were collected from a variety of macrophyte-related habitats, including shoots of the seagrasses Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii, large and small bare areas among grass shoots and several macroalgal species with differing morphologies. / Abundance per gram dry weight of Thalassia, species richness and composition of Thalassia-associated crustaceans were similar between sampling sites, yet individuals/m('2) varied significantly. A strong positive correlation was observed between crustacean density and above-ground Thalassia biomass. Comparison of seasonal patterns in faunal abundance between sites suggested differences in crustacean numbers were influenced by plant standing crop, timing of major reproductive effort and seagrass-mediated predation. / Within-site faunal comparison of bare areas and two seagrasses indicated that crustacean abundance and species richness were similar between vegetated substrata and were significantly higher than unvegetated microhabitats. Animals densities, as well as the proportion of epifauna, increased with increasing plant biomass. Generally, crustacean species composition was similar among microhabitats, while differences were noted in relative abundances of certain species. / Significant differences in abundance per gram dry weight were observed among macroalgal species with the highly complex leafy and foliose forms hosting greatest numbers of individuals. Crustacean species richness and composition were similar among algae yet differences were found in the relative abundances of species. Significant abundance-plant weight, species-plant weight and species-abundance relationships were observed for macroalgal crustaceans. Abundance explained most of the variation in species number with plant weight contributing only a small but significant amount. Although macroalgae hosted greater abundances per gram dry plant weight than Thalassia, the relative contribution of macroalgal crustaceans to total faunal density was small and dependent upon the biomass of algae within the grassbeds. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-09, Section: B, page: 2792. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74934 |
| Contributors | LEWIS, FRANK GRAHAM, III., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 163 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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