2015/06/19 by Jian-Xiang Liao, Hsin-Ming Yeh, Hsin‐Ming Yeh +2 · 10 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Abundance (ecology) #Benthic zone #Biology #Community structure #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Detritivore #Ecology #Ecosystem engineer #Habitat #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Marine and coastal plant biology #Meiobenthos #Seagrass #Sediment #Species diversity #Trophic level
paper · doi:10.1017/s0025315415000879
published in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 96(3), 725-735 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2015/06/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
The structural complexity of macrophytes that provide various microhabitats is related to local infaunal abundance and diversity. Seagrass is considered an ecosystem engineer that alters the benthic environment and enables certain distinct meiofauna to thrive in sediments. The effects of seagrass species in a mixed-species seagrass bed at Haikou, Taiwan were examined. Analysing quantitative samples obtained from patches of Thalassia hemprichii, Halodule uninervis, Halophila ovalis and adjacent unvegetated sediments inspected the community structures of meiofauna and marine nematodes. The abundance and diversity of crustaceans and nematodes were substantially higher in habitats in which seagrass grew than in those comprising unvegetated sediments. Both the compositions of higher meiofaunal taxa and nematode species were distinct between seagrass habitats and unvegetated areas. Several nematode species existed exclusively in patches of individual seagrass species, whereas no nematode specifically occurred in unvegetated areas. Regarding the trophic types of nematodes, non-selective deposit feeders were prevalent in the present study, whereas selective deposit feeders and epistrate feeders were relatively dominant in seagrass habitats. Sediments underneath various patches of seagrass species harbour dissimilar nematode communities, even with similar sediment parameters and at a small-scale distance.