Role of meiofauna in estuarine soft‐bottom habitats*

Abstract

Meiofauna are ubiquitous in estuaries worldwide averaging 106 m−2. Abundance and species composition are controlled primarily by three physical factors: sediment particle size, temperature and salinity. While meiofauna are integral parts of estuarine food webs, the evidence that they are biologically controlled is equivocal. Top down (predation) control clearly does not regulate meiofaunal assemblages. Meiofauna reproduce so rapidly and are so abundant that predators cannot significantly reduce population size. Food quantity (bottom up control) also does not appear to limit meiofaunal abundance; there is little data on the effect of food quality. In estuarine sediments meiofauna: (i) facilitate biomineralization of organic matter and enhance nutrient regeneration; (ii) serve as food for a variety of higher trophic levels; and (iii) exhibit high sensitivity to anthropogenic inputs, making them excellent sentinels of estuarine pollution. Generally mineralization of organic matter is enhanced and bacterial production stimulated in the presence of meiofauna. Tannins from mangrove detritus in northern Queensland appear to inhibit meiofaunal abundance and therefore the role of meiofauna in breakdown of the leaves. Meiofauna, particularly copepods, are known foods for a variety of predators especially juvenile fish and the meiofaunal copepods are high in the essential fatty acids required by fish. The copepod’s fatty acid composition is like that of the microphytobenthos they eat; bacterial eaters (nematodes?) do not have the essential fatty acids necessary for fish. Most contaminants in estuaries reside in sediments, and meiofauna are intimately associated with sediments over their entire life‐cycle, thus they are increasingly being used as pollution sentinels. Australian estuarine meiofauna research has been concentrated in Queensland, the Hunter River estuarine system in New South Wales, and Victoria’s coastal lagoons. Studies in northern Queensland have primarily concentrated on the role of nematodes in mineralization of organic matter, whereas those from southern Queensland have concentrated on the role of meiofauna as food for fish and as bacterial grazers. The New South Wales studies have concentrated on the Hunter River estuary and on the structure and function of marine nematode communities. In Victoria, several fish have been shown to eat meiofauna. The Australian world of meiofaunal research has hardly been touched; there are innumerable opportunities for meiofaunal studies. In contaminated estuarine sediments reduced trophic coupling between meiofauna and juvenile fish is a basic ecological question of habitat suitability, but also a question with relevance to management of estuarine resources. Because meiofauna have short lifecycles, the effects of a contaminant on the entire life‐history can be assessed within a relatively short time. The use of modern molecular biology techniques to assess genetic diversity of meiofauna in contaminated vs uncontaminated sediments is a promising avenue for future research. Much of the important meiofaunal functions take place in very muddy substrata; thus, it is imperative to retain mudflats in estuaries.