Spatial configurations generated by motile benthic polychaetes

Abstract

Micro-spatial patterns of five infaunal polychaete species were investigated on tidal flats in the Wadden Sea (island of Sylt, North Sea). Sediment samples were taken within plots of 4 m2 at regular distances or with a multiple-cell corer composed of 144 contiguous units. Most of the configurations observed can be related to the mode of feeding. Individuals of the predatory polychaete Eteone longa do not generate discernible spatial structures. Anaitides mucosa, a carnivoruous scavanger, occurs in marked patches. Juveniles of Scoloplos armiger, a burrowing deposit feeder, live in small aggregates which in turn conglomerate to larger ones. Adults are scattered within larger clusters. High density areas of juveniles and adults do overlap. Another burrowing deposit feeder, Capitella capitata, is even more aggregated. Local attractors may cause clusters of exceptional intensity. Territoriality is exhibited by the tube-dwelling surface deposit feeding Nereis diversicolor. The juveniles are restricted to interspaces left by the adults. © 1979 Biologischen Anstalt Helgoland.