Vertical Zonation of Suspension Feeders: Effects of Benthic and Oceanographic Processes

在北冰洋和亚北极海洋的岩石潮下带，以藻类为主的浅水区被以悬浮摄食无脊椎动物为主的深水所取代。尽管悬浮摄食区无处不在，但将固着悬浮摄食器限制在深水生境的机制尚不清楚。这项研究将探讨限制缅因湾悬浮式喂食器垂直分区的具体海底和海洋过程。除了提供关于动植物相互作用和水动力条件对群落结构的影响的信息外，这项研究还应该是第一批大规模研究之一，以便在水柱事件和岩石潮下环境中底-上层耦合的垂直分区和生产力之间建立必要的联系。

In the rocky subtidal of boreal and subarctic oceans, the shallow, algal-dominated zone is replaced by a deep-water dominated by suspension feeding invertebrates. Despite the pervasiveness of the suspension feeding zone, the mechanisms restricting sessile suspension feeders to the deep-water habitats are not understood. This research will address specific benthic and oceanographic processes limiting the vertical zonation of suspension feeders in the Gulf of Maine. In addition to providing information on the influence of plant-animal interactions and hydrodynamic conditions on community structure, the research should be one of the first large-scale studies to make the necessary connection between events in the water column and the vertical zonation of benthic-pelagic coupling and productivity in rocky subtidal environments.