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

在寒带和亚北极海洋的潮下岩石中，以藻类为主的浅水区被以悬浮食性无脊椎动物为主的深水区所取代。尽管悬浮取食带普遍存在，但限制固定式悬浮取食动物进入深水栖息地的机制尚不清楚。这项研究将解决特定的底栖生物和海洋学过程限制了缅因州湾悬浮食饵的垂直带。除了提供植物-动物相互作用和水动力条件对群落结构的影响的信息外，这项研究应该是第一个在水柱事件和海底-上层耦合的垂直带之间建立必要联系的大规模研究之一，并在岩石潮下环境中提高生产力。

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.