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  • 1
    ISSN: 1438-3888
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Environmental conditions in salt marsh creeks are intermediate between the open tidal coast and estuaries. A large salt marsh creek at the island of Sylt (North Sea) was studied in order to test whether its fauna is more similar to that of the open tidal coast or to that of estuaries. Because of a sandy bar at the seaward opening, the tidal range is only 10 cm in the creek, and the water level never drops below the level of the sand bar. Zoobenthos in the sandy bottom and on the sandy shores was studied at both ends and in the middle of the creek. Polychaeta and Plathelminthes were determined to species level. On an average, 2115 metazoans were found below 10 cm2 of surface area. At the seaward end of the creek, abundance and taxonomic composition are similar to that of the adjoining Wadden area. Nematoda are the dominant taxon, followed by Copepoda, Plathelminthes and Oligochaeta. Taxonomic composition is different at the landward end. Plathelminthes and Nematoda are most abundant followed by Copepoda. Both Oligochaeta and Polychaeta are scarce at these newly eroded sites. Plathelminth abundance at the landward end of the creek is exceptionally high (770–935·10 cm−2). Contrary to what is generally found in estuaries, the species density of Plathelminthes shows a significant increase toward the land. The species composition of Polychaeta and Plathelminthes indicates that the sites below mean high tide level of the creek correspond to the adjacent eulittoral Wadden area while the fauna of the supralittoral sites of the creek is similar to the fauna of supralittoral tidal coasts. Typical sublittoral species did not occur in the salt marsh creek. Thus, salt marsh creeks may be regarded as a small-scale model for the tidal coast. In context with the results obtained, the definition of estuaries is discussed.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 2
    ISSN: 1438-3888
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 3
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Helgoland marine research 44 (1990), S. 375-386 
    ISSN: 1438-3888
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Some species of various meiofaunal taxa may actively emerge from the sediment and swim in the water column, preferably at night. In the water column they get dispersed by tital currents. The hypothesis that this drift may cause significant short-term changes in the abundance of these species was tested. Such changes were verified for harpacticoid copepods and plathelminths. Depending on the hydrographic conditions, abundance changes may be unpredictable or show regularly alternating patterns. In the light of these results, small-scale spatial estimates of abundance become generally very difficult to make in the taxa containing emergent species. It is suggested that reliable averages can only be obtained by repeated or large-scale spatial sampling.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 4
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Helgoland marine research 40 (1986), S. 229-240 
    ISSN: 1438-3888
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Although supralittoral salt marshes are habitats of high environmental instability, the meiofauna is rich in species and abundance is high. The community structure of free-living Plathelminthes (Turbellaria) in these salt marshes is described. On an average, 104 individuals are found below an area of 10 cm2. The average species density in ungrazed salt marshes is 11.3 below 10 cm2 and 45.2 below 100 cm2, indicating strong small-scale heterogenity. The faunal similarity between sediment and the corresponding above-ground vegetation is higher than between adjacent sample sites. Species prefer distinct ranges of salinity. In the lower part of the supralittoral salt marshes, the annual fluctuations of salinity are strongest and highly unpredictable. This region is richest in plathelminth species and abundance; diversity is highest, and the faunal composition of parallel samples is quite similar. In the upper part of the supralittoral salt marshes, the annual variability of salinity is lower, plathelminths are poor in species diversity and abundance. Parallel samples often have no species in common. Thus, those salt marsh regions with the most unstable environment are inhabited by the most diverse species assemblage. Compared to other littoral zones of the North Sea, however, plathelminth diversity in salt marshes is low. The observed plathelminth diversity pattern can apparently be explained by the “dynamic equilibrium model” (Huston, 1979).
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 5
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Helgoland marine research 45 (1991), S. 357-372 
    ISSN: 1438-3888
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The gut content of nearly 2000 specimens ofEnoplus brevis was quantitatively analysed.E. brevis is an opportunistic omnivore. Main food categories found were cyanobacteria, diatoms, oligochaetes, nematodes, and rotifers. With a few exceptions, the diet of females and males was identical. Predominantly, juveniles fed on cyanobacteria and adults on animal prey. Experiments revealed that living oligochaetes are attacked and preyed upon. The quantities of the food categories eaten byEnoplus varied according to their ambient abundance, both temporarily and spatially on a small scale. At least the nematode prey was strongly selected: some species were significantly preferred and others avoided.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 6
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Helgoland marine research 54 (2000), S. 213-223 
    ISSN: 1438-3888
    Keywords: Meiofauna Emergence Abundance Extraction method Spatial pattern
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract. Many meiofaunal copepods and plathelminths enter the tidal waters at night thus exhibiting a life-style intermediate between benthic and planktonic. At the same time, ostracods may leave their interstitial dwelling and move across the sediment surface. In laboratory experiments, the percentage of plathelminth populations emerging from the sediment varied with the species, temperature, light conditions, and the dimensions of the sediment cores studied, but not with tidal level, season, ambient density of conspecifics, or the sediment composition. Therefore, the swimming activity may be utilised for extraction of semiplanktonic meiofauna provided that the extraction procedure is standardised with respect to temperature, light and core size. For free-living plathelminths from the Wadden Sea intertidal a robust standard procedure is as follows: sediment cores 1.6 cm in diameter (2 cm2 surface area) and 3 cm deep are fitted into cylindrical containers and submerged into aquaria containing filtered seawater (ambient salinity, room temperature, darkness) for 24 h. The sediment containers are then removed and the aquarian water filtered through appropriate meshes; the residue contains the emergent faunal component. For plathelminths, this procedure reduces sorting time by some 90% compared with the standard shaking–decantation method and thus makes it possible to process a high number of samples in a short time. Similar procedures may be developed for copepods and epibenthic ostracods.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 7
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Helgoland marine research 41 (1987), S. 83-111 
    ISSN: 1438-3888
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract During recent years, many investigations on small zoobenthos have been performed at the island of Sylt. As these studies were carried out sporadically over many years and as different extraction methods were used, comparisons of the results have been hampered. Therefore, in August/September 1986, 24 sites were sampled and evaluated using one quantitative method throughout. Sites range from mud to exposed sand and from the sublittoral to the supralittoral. Macrofauna and the taxa Plathelminthes, Polychaeta, and Oligochaeta are determined to species level. Macrofaunal (〉0.5 mm) abundance is highest in mud and continuously decreases with increasing exposure to wave action. Meiofaunal (〈0.5 mm) abundance is less variable. Nematoda dominate in mud and muddy sand, Copepoda in sheltered and exposed sand, other taxa only intermittently. Related to surface area, no correlation between macro-and meiofaunal abundance is apparent. Plathelminthes and Copepoda reach highest abundance per surface area in sand but their per volume density is higher in mud and muddy sand. Related to sediment volume instead of surface area, the meiofaunal abundance pattern is very similar to the macrofaunal pattern. The faunal composition changes gradually along the tidal gradient without general faunal boundaries. On an averange, the faunal similarity of neighbouring sites is highest in Oligochaeta and lowest in Plathelminthes. Presumably, Oligochaeta tolerate wider ranges of environmental factors. This may explain the low number of oligochaete species. On the other hand, Plathelminthes seem to adapt to relatively narrow ranges of factors and their species richness is highest. Because of macrofaunameiofauna interaction it is suggested that the meiofaunal assemblage will be least stable in mud and muddy sand, and most stable in exposed sand.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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