Meiobenthic Interactions with the Larvae/Juveniles of Macrobenthos

小型底栖动物被认为干扰大型海洋动物大型底栖动物的幼虫招募，无论是在它们定居时，还是随后当幼体成熟并占据沉积物时。除了来自沙质沉积物的一些实验证据表明，一些涡虫以定居的幼虫为食外，人们对这种“小型动物瓶颈”的性质知之甚少。将进行实验，以测试不同功能的小型底栖动物对大型动物幼体的成功定居、幼体运动以及幼体生长和存活的影响。在实验室和野外实验中，将允许不同功能的不同种类的大型幼虫与功能不同的小型底栖动物定居，以确定是否又有一种小型底栖动物抑制或促进幼虫的定居。在实验室中，将允许变质的大型动物从小型动物斑块迁徙，以测试小型动物对幼体迁徙和扩散的影响。此外，选定的大型底栖幼体将被迫与不同的小型动物生活，以确定对幼体生存和生长的影响。这些实验旨在预测在功能不同的小型底栖动物存在的情况下，大型底栖动物的早期招募、生长和存活。

Meiobenthic animals are thought to interfere with larval recruitment of large marine animals known as macrobenthos, both as they settle and subsequently as the young juveniles mature and occupy sediments. The nature of this "meiofaunal bottleneck" is poorly understood except for some experimental evidence from sandy sediments that some turbellarians eat settled larvae. Experiments will be undertaken to test the effect of functionally different meiobenthos on the success of macrofaunal larval settlement, juvenile movement, and juvenile growth and survival. In both laboratory and field experiments functionally different kinds of larval macrofauna will be allowed to settle with functionally different meiobenthos to determine if one more meiobenthic type inhibits or enhances larval settlement. In the laboratory, metamorphosed macrofauna will be allowed to migrate from meiofaunal patches to test the effect of meiofauna on juvenile emigration and dispersion. Additionally selected macrobenthic juveniles will be forced to live with different meiofauna to determine the effect on juvenile survivorship and growth. The experiments are designed to predict early macrofaunal recruitment, growth, and survivorship in the presence of functionally different meiobenthos.