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

在北方和亚北极海洋的岩石潮下带， 浅水区被深水区取代 以悬浮进食的无脊椎动物为主 尽管 悬浮液进料区的渗透性， 限制固着悬浮觅食动物在深水栖息地 不被理解。 这项研究将针对特定的底栖生物 和海洋学过程限制了 缅因州海湾的悬浮馈线。 除了 提供关于动植物影响的信息 相互作用和水动力条件对群落结构的影响 这项研究应该是第一个大规模的研究之一， 在水柱中的事件之间建立必要的联系 以及底栖-中上层耦合的垂直分带， 生产力在岩石潮下带环境。

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.