Marine Biology Commons^™

The Effects Of The Mud Snail Ilyanassa Obsoleta (Say) Upon The Benthic Community Of Broad Bay, Virginia, Wick Timothy Harlan

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The effects of the presence of the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say) upon the benthic community of Broad Bay, Virginia were examined through artificial removal and exclusion of the snail and artificial increase of the snail population. The enclosure treatment exhibited a significantly higher number of macrofaunal individuals than the control. The control had a significantly higher number of meiofaunal individuals than either treatment. There were no significant differences for the chlorophyll a. The increase in macrofauna and corresponding decrease in meiofauna were probably due to cage effects and not snail densities. The presence of the fences can act as …