Substrate selection by Corophium species: the particle size of substrates
Meadows, P.S. (1964). Substrate selection by Corophium species: the particle size of substrates. J. Anim. Ecol. 33(3): 387-394. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2560
In: Journal of Animal Ecology. Blackwell Science/British Ecological Society: Oxford. ISSN 0021-8790; e-ISSN 1365-2656, more
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| Keywords |
Dimensions > Size > Particle size
Habitat selection
Substrates
Corophium arenarium Crawford, 1937 [WoRMS]; Corophium volutator (Pallas, 1766) [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Abstract |
1. When offered a choice of sand having different particle sizes, Corophium volutator prefers fine to coarse over a range of sizes. On the basis of one experiment C. arenarium is indifferent to particle size.2. The observed particle size preferences of C. volutator may be due to one of three factors: (a) appreciation of particle size; (b) appreciation of the increased organic material and micro-organisms on fine sand grains; (c) difficulty in constructing permanent burrows in the coarser grades of sand.3. C. volutator may be misled as to the nature of the underlying substrate by thin surface layers of different particle size.4. When offered sand of the same grain size sieved from the substrates of the two species, C. volutator burrowed mainly in the sand from its own substrate. C. arenarium detected no difference between the two sands.5. It is suggested that C. arenarium is somewhat less particular in its choice of substrate than is C. volutator. |
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