Rb. Ford et al., Macrobenthic colonisation of disturbances on an intertidal sandflat: the influence of season and buried algae, MAR ECOL-PR, 191, 1999, pp. 163-174
This study examines whether macrofaunal colonisation differs seasonally in
an intertidal sandflat. Frozen cores were placed in the sandflat within eac
h season and colonisation of these cores was followed for 50 d. This study
shows a previously untested effect of buried algal mais on colonisation. A
change in the sediment organic content can increase or decrease macrofaunal
densities. Community colonisation rates of defaunated plugs were slower in
winter compared to summer because of the higher numbers of rare macrofauna
in winter. Community colonisation of plugs with algal additions were also
dependent on the seasonally varying response of the corophiid amphipod Para
corophium excavatum, the most abundant species in this community. The stron
gest effect of the experiments was linked to critical densities of P. excav
atum, irrespective of season. A mechanism for this linkage is suggested. Th
is study also emphasises the importance of post-settlement movement as the
mechanism by which most species on this sandflat colonised in either season
.