Effect of the snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say) on dynamics of the amphipod Corophium volutator (Pallas) on an intertidal mudflat |
| |
Authors: | David Drolet Myriam A Barbeau Diana J Hamilton |
| |
Institution: | a Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 5A3 b Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, 63B York Street, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada E4L 1G7 |
| |
Abstract: | We investigated interactions between two dominant invertebrate species of intertidal soft-sediment environments of the northwest Atlantic, the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta and the burrowing amphipod Corophium volutator, on a mudflat of the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada. Distribution of I. obsoleta on the mudflat was highly patchy and negatively correlated with density of C. volutator. Manipulation of snail density in cages showed that I. obsoleta influences C. volutator; specifically, increasing density of snails reduced density, increased patchiness in distribution, decreased recapture rates and decreased immigration of C. volutator. Ilyanassa obsoleta seems to be affecting C. volutator through an influence on survival rate and emigration rate, although temporal variation in these effects was observed. Given that both I. obsoleta and C. volutator show a preference for tide pools, an important microhabitat on mudflats, snails might have a profound impact on C. volutator population dynamics. |
| |
Keywords: | Corophium volutator Ilyanassa obsoleta Mudflat Soft-sediment environment Spatial pattern |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|