Abstract
In sea-grass meadows of Islas Los Roques, Venezuela, densities of turtle grass ( Thalassia testudinum (König)) and the understory of calcareous green algae ( Halimeda opuntia (Linnaeus)) were manipulated in nine experimental treatments and controls to examine the influence of both quantitative (biomass and total surface area) and qualitative (architectural) aspects of habitat complexity on crustacean assemblages. Small, motile epifaunal crustaceans quickly colonized manipulated habitats, with numbers of individuals and species becoming asymptotic within 5 days. Greatest abundance of crustaceans occurred in plots with highest macrophyte biomass. Number of individuals per unit plant surface area, however, was uniform over all vegetated treatments, suggesting that surface area of the habitat controlled total abundance of epifaunal Crustacea, regardless of architectural type available. Rarefaction indicated that highest species richness was found in treatments containing high standing crops of Thalassia and Halimeda, suggesting that quantitative aspects of habitat complexity have an important influence on species richness. Responses of individual species to architectural type were variable; of the 15 most abundant taxa, eight species were significantly associated with Halimeda, while only two were associated with Thalassia. Because of the high number of animal species associated with Halimeda, addition of this architectural type to Thalassia beds had a pronounced influence on faunal species richness in the grass bed. It is now clear that both quantitative and qualitative aspects of habitat complexity affect abundance, species richness, and composition of crustaceans in tropical sea-grass meadows. Increased habitat complexity associated with the occurrence of Halimeda and other “supplemental substrata” in tropical sea-grass meadows may be responsible for large-scale biogeographic patterns such as gradients in species diversity.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
