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Spatial configurations generated by motile benthic polychaetes
Helgoländer wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen volume 32, pages 55–72 (1979)
Abstract
Micro-spatial patterns of five infaunal polychaete species were investigated on tidal flats in the Wadden Sea (island of Sylt, North Sea). Sediment samples were taken within plots of 4 m2 at regular distances or with a multiple-cell corer composed of 144 contiguous units. Most of the configurations observed can be related to the mode of feeding. Individuals of the predatory polychaeteEteone longa do not generate discernible spatial structures.Anaitides mucosa, a carnivoruous scavanger, occurs in marked patches. Juveniles ofScoloplos armiger, a burrowing deposit feeder, live in small aggregates which in turn conglomerate to larger ones. Adults are scattered within larger clusters. High density areas of juveniles and adults do overlap. Another burrowing deposit feeder,Capitella capitata, is even more aggregated. Local attractors may cause clusters of exceptional intensity. Territoriality is exhibited by the tube-dwelling surface deposit feedingNereis diversicolor. The juveniles are restricted to interspaces left by the adults.
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I acknowledge a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
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Reise, K. Spatial configurations generated by motile benthic polychaetes. Helgolander Wiss. Meeresunters 32, 55–72 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02189892
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02189892