Importance of Secondary Dispersal in Determining Patterns of Spatial Abundance in Macro-Invertebrate Communities

9731718彼得森软底底栖生境是海洋生态系统中最普遍存在的环境之一;然而，与其他类型的底栖系统相比，我们对决定物种丰度和分布的过程的了解相形见绌。过去底栖生物系统的研究主要集中在捕食、干扰和竞争对成年底栖生物种群的影响。最近注意到的潜在作用的幼虫供应和整个招聘过程中，大大扩大了我们的知识结构底栖生物群落的过程。然而，对于软底群落，我们的知识中存在一个巨大的关键空白，即幼虫补充后生物体的二次运动或再分散的作用。通过一系列旨在解决这一问题的实地和实验室实验，研究将侧重于两个目标：量化和描述选定的海洋底栖大型无脊椎动物，特别是幼体的次级移动，并确定次级移动在构建软底群落和调解其他过程的相互作用方面的作用。研究将侧重于三种常见的河口底栖无脊椎动物，它们的传播能力各不相同，包括两种双壳类和一种多毛类蠕虫。 这项研究将涉及直接检查这些生物体在原地，并将包括一个水动力制度的特点。计划研究栖息地结构，捕食者和密度依赖的相互作用对二次扩散。研究结果将增加对影响软底底环境中群落结构和功能的因素的了解。

9731718 Peterson Soft-bottom benthic habitats represent one of the most ubiquitous environments within the marine ecosystem; however, our knowledge of the processes which determine species abundance and distribution pales in comparison to other types of benthic systems. The majority of past research in benthic systems has focused on the role of predation, disturbance, and competition on adult benthic populations. Recent attention to the potential role of larval supply and the entire recruitment process has greatly expanded our knowledge of the processes which structure benthic communities. Nevertheless, for soft-bottom communities, one large, critical gap exists in our knowledge, the role of secondary movement or redispersal of organisms following larval recruitment. Through a series of field and laboratory experiments designed to address this topic, research will focus on two objectives: to quantify and describe the secondary movement of selected marine benthic macro-invertebrates, particularly juveniles, and to determine the role secondary movement has in structuring soft-bottom communities and mediating interactions of other processes. Research will focus on three common estuarine benthic invertebrates which vary in their dispersal abilities and include two bivalves and one polychate worm. The research will involve direct examination of these organisms in situ and will include a characterization of the hydrodymanic regimes. Research on the interaction of habitat structure, predators and density dependence on secondary dispersion is planned. The results will add knowledge to a poorly understood aspect of the factors which influence community structure and function in soft-bottom benthic environments.