Life Sciences Commons^™

Biotic Interactions Among Estuarine Infaunal Opportunistic Species, Roman Zajac, R. B. Whitlatch

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Biotic interactions among soft-sediment infauna were investigated in a small New England estuary in order to determine what effect(s) established opportunistic species had on subsequent recolonization. Interactions were defined according to successional models developed by Connell and Slatyer (1977), e.g. facilitation, tolerance and inhibition. Adults of the opportunistic polychaetes Streblospio benedicti, Polydora ligni and Hobsonia florida were added at 2 densities to separate cores containing defaunated sediment. These cores and control cores containing no worms were sampled at 10 d intervals for 40 d. Cores containing capillary tubes to simulate polychaete tubes were also deployed and sampled at 10 d …