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- Title
Distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates across a reed stand in a brackish Baltic lagoon.
- Authors
Pawlikowski, Krzysztof; Kornijów, Ryszard
- Abstract
• The zonal distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates among reeds is poorly understood. • Such a study was seasonally carried out across the reeds in the Vistula Lagoon. • The highest diversity, density, and biomass were typical of the middle part of the stand. • Oxygenation and predation were likely to play the primary role in faunal distribution. • Percent of detritivores did not follow the amount of organic matter in the sediment. The role of reeds in the functioning of ecosystems and their significance for zoobenthos in the coastal lagoons is poorly understood. We hypothesise that next to the spatial zonal differentiation of abiotic factors in the apparently homogeneous habitat of reeds, benthic macroinvertebrate fauna is also unevenly distributed, and differs in taxonomic and functional diversity, as well as density and biomass across the reed stand. The research was carried out in the Vistula Lagoon (southern Baltic) along three designated sectors arranged parallel to the shoreline and differing in distance from the shore and depth. Mean density of reed stems in the analysed stand was within the range of values reported from different American and European wetlands. Regardless of the location within the reeds and the season, the fauna was dominated by detritivorous Tubificinae and larvae of Chironomidae. The highest diversity, density, and biomass of fauna were found in the middle littoral zone, and the lowest in the outer zone adjacent to the open water. The presented data support our hypothesis predicting the existence of a spatial variation pattern in the composition and distribution of macroinvertebrates in response to the changing zonal habitat conditions within the reed stand.
- Subjects
LAGOONS; INVERTEBRATES; BENTHIC animals; SPATIAL variation; BIOMASS; HABITATS; LITTORAL zone
- Publication
Oceanologia, 2022, Vol 64, Issue 3, p433
- ISSN
0078-3234
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1016/j.oceano.2022.02.004