STARDUST II - Spatial and Temporal Assessment
of high Resolution Depth profiles Using novel Sampling Technologies The fate of pollutants in fluvial and marine sediments in cross-border zones
Interactions between macrobenthic epifauna and infauna in a Ceriops tagal mangrove at Gazi Bay, Kenya
Garcia de Camargo, M. (1995). Interactions between macrobenthic epifauna and infauna in a Ceriops tagal mangrove at Gazi Bay, Kenya. MSc Thesis. Vrije Universiteit Brussel: Brussel. 64 pp.
The effect of predation by epibenthos on infaunal macrobenthos of a tropical mangrove was investigated by a manipulative field experiment. Completely screened cages were used to exclude large epibenthic predators and partial cages were used to control effect of caging on the sediment. Densities of macrobenthic taxa Oligochaeta, Amphipoda, Insecta larvae, Polychaeta and macro-Nematoda and a broad range of abiotic variables were followed in the surface layer (0-2 cm) over five months of caging. Different statistical approaches (ANOVA and ordination methods) were used before making decisions on differences between treatments, and an algorithm was proposed to analyse layouts based on randomized-blocks and completely randomized designs. Based on the knowledge of epibenthic food behaviour and previous studies in the same area, it is hypothesized that resource competition for food rather than predation is the determining structuring force between macrobenthic epi- and infauna. There was a significant exclusion effect on Tubificidae (Oligochaeta) densities and chlorophyll concentration and a procedural effect on macro-Nematoda and inorganic mud. Evidence from statistical analyses and gut content analysis indicated that in this study Tubificidae (the dominant group) might be preyed upon by visiting epibenthos (hyperbenthos and fishes). Consequently, the hypothesis was rejected. Also Amphipoda and Insecta larvae showed unexpected results.
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STARDUST II is a project funded by the INTERREG III A programme (France/Walloon Region/Flanders
French-Flemish subprogramme) of the European Community's Regional Development Fund.
Hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
