Bibliography: leaves 126-134. / Thalassinidean prawns in the genus Callianassa have been singled out as important bioturbators because of their size and activity, and because they often occur at high densities and burrow deep into the sediments. The ecological effects of bioturbation by Callianassa kraussi on the eelgrass Zostera capensis, and its indirect effects on the sedentary mudprawn Upogebia africana and the biota of an intertidal sandflat were assessed at Langebaan Lagoon, South Africa, through comparative surveys, observations and field experiments. I hypothesised that C. kraussi and Z. capensis have mutually detrimental effects on each other, with bioturbation by C. kraussi leading to smothering of Z. capensis, and stabilising of sediments by Z. capensis impeding burrowing of C. kraussi. I also hypothesised that C. kraussi would be negatively correlated with U. africana because the latter relies on semi-permanent U-tubes to filter-feed, and bioturbation is likely to disrupt these.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/6970 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | De Vos Siebert, Timony-Lee |
| Contributors | Branch, George M |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MPhil |
| Format | application/pdf |
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