The distribution patterns of infaunal polychaetes can be influenced by several factors (e.g., predation, competition, and, or disturbance). Adult-larval interactions have been shown to be important in communities where adult densities are high. Manipulative field experiments were used to test the effects of several adult species on the settlement and recruitment of infaunal polychaetes in seagrass beds on Turkey Point Shoal, St. George's Sound in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Interpretation of observed or inferred settlement patterns in field experiments can be difficult and erroneous if little is known of larval settling behavior. I designed experiments to find cues responsible for larval settlement behavior, and to determine if these cues could also alter the spatial pattern at settlement. The deposit feeding adults Aricidea philbinae and Prionospio heterobrachia inhibited the settlement and recruitment of conspecifics both in the field and lab. The tube building adult Americonuphis magna facilitated the settlement and recruitment of A. philbinae, Sphaerosyllis taylori, and Nereis succinea in field experiments. Only Prionospio larvae seem to seek out sediments with a past history of Americonuphis magna in laboratory settling experiments. Polychaete tubes had little or no effect on polychaete settlement. Both inhibition and facilitation seem to govern recruitment sequences in these low adult density assemblages. The active larval settlement behaviors I found reveal that some mechanisms of the adult-larval interactions observed are attributable to larval behavior (both avoidance and attractance). It is evident that larval behavior and adult-larval interactions are important in structuring the small-scale patchiness in the seagrass bed community. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-03, Section: B, page: 0623. / Major Professor: Robert J. Livingston. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76262 |
| Contributors | Schmidt, Jon Alexander., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 114 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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