Effects of biological disturbance by benthic amphipods Monoporeia affinis on meiobenthic community structure: a laboratory approach

Abstract

Monoporeia affinis appears to have a negative effect on surface-dwelling nematode species but a positive effect on the deeper dwelling Daptonema sp. Copepod abundances increased with increasing numbers of amphipods and were highest in the high density microcosms. In microcosms without amphipods, Macoma balthica spat was almost twice as abundant as in the amphipod treatments. For kinohynchs and turbellarians there were also significant differences between treatments. -from Authors