Measurements of short-term turnover of epifauna within seagrass beds using an in situ staining method

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Abstract
An in situ staining technique was developed to measure mobility levels of epifauna within a heavily vegetated habitat. Mobile epifauna of a sea-grass (Halodule wrightii) bed in the Indian River lagoon, Florida (USA), were stained by temporary confinement of a neutral red solution to 0.56 m2 areas of substrate. Subsequent replacement of stained by unstained fauna within treated areas provided a measure of the rate of turnover of individuals. Retention of stain by treated animals was reliable for major crustacean and gastropod taxa over periods of at least 12 h, and stain treatment did not affect long-term survivorship of aquarium-held epifauna. Field experiments indicated that sea-grass-associated crustacean taxa can be highly mobile; > 50% turnover of individuals of a caridean shrimp species occurred in 3 h. Gastropods were less mobile, though some species approached 50% turnover in 6 h. Small-scale patterns of distribution of epifauna may change considerably in a matter of hours.