SUSPENSION OF MARINE NEMATODES IN A TURBULENT TIDAL CREEK: SPECIES PATTERNS

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Abstract
Nematodes had a mean abundance of hundreds per m3 in an estuarine creek. They were four orders of magnitude less abundant in the water column than in the sediment. The water column nematode assemblage was dominated by three species of Metachromadora which comprised 57% of the suspended nematodes. Other abundant species were Chromadorita aff. minima and Ptycholaimellus pandispiculatus. Numbers of suspended nematodes were highest during the ebb and flood tides when currents were fastest. The two factors that appear to be most important in determining which species are in the water are the vertical distribution and the overall abundance of a species in the sediment. Surficial distributions and high sediment abundance will result in greater representation in the water column. Suspension in the water column and subsequent transport by tidal currents potentially plays a significant role in the local dispersal of certain meiobenthic nematode species. Corollaries to water column dispersal are an improved ability of nematodes in colonizing new habitats, an increased diversity in some habitats as animals are carried between habitats, and an interaction between hydrodynamic factors and benthic topography that affects small-scale spatial distribution.

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