6
K. Reise
Physical factors structuring the biota on exposed shores give way to a prevalence of biogenic structuring and biotic interactions on sheltered shores.
On the latter, complex zonations and habitat mosaics develop. Here, the
uppermost zone should be occupied by salt marshes or mangroves, except at
the bare sepkhas of arid regions. These habitats of the upper fringe are merely
touched upon in the present volume. In the lower zone of the shore at lower
latitudes, coral reefs may grow and then transform the sedimentary environment into biogenic rock. Also this habitat has not been included. Instead we
focus on the marine organisms of mud and sand in the nearshore zone. This
book is divided into four thematic sections.
The first four chapters deal with suspension feeders. These often dominate
in zoomass and form conspicuous reefs and dense beds. They rely on a supply
of organic material from the sea, and mediate a particularly intricate benthopelagic coupling. On exposed beaches, this feeding mode is also combined
with high mobility. The variability of food resources on sedimentary shores
has selected for organisms able to alternate between suspension and deposit
feeding.
The ability of organisms to modify the sediment structure and dynamics is
considered in the next four chapters. In particular, benthic micro algae consolidate sediments, while grazers, burrowing and digging animals disturb
these efforts. The interplay of biogenic stabilizing and destabilizing processes
has cascading effects on the composition of the sedimentary coastal biota.
Next seagrasses and zoobenthos are compared between shores with respect
to nutrient supplies, salinity, latitude and biogeographic provinces in five
chapters. These large-scale comparisons reveal striking similarities as well as
unique regional features. However, it is apparent that the global coverage of
studied sites is still too uneven to arrive at sound generalities.
In the last three chapters attention is given to processes determining
structural dynamics in communities and populations, and how these need to
be studied in order to incorporate them into comparisons between distant
sedimentary shores. The roles of disturbance, predators and subsidies from
adjacent ecosystems are considered.
Finally, a synthesis provides an overview to major conclusions from all of
the 16 chapters.
References
Beukema JJ (1991) Changes in composition of bottom fauna of a tidal-flat area during a
period of eutrophication. Mar Bioi 111:293-301
Blackburn TM, Gaston KJ (1998) Some methodological issues in macro ecology. Am Nat
151:68-83
K. Reise
Physical factors structuring the biota on exposed shores give way to a prevalence of biogenic structuring and biotic interactions on sheltered shores.
On the latter, complex zonations and habitat mosaics develop. Here, the
uppermost zone should be occupied by salt marshes or mangroves, except at
the bare sepkhas of arid regions. These habitats of the upper fringe are merely
touched upon in the present volume. In the lower zone of the shore at lower
latitudes, coral reefs may grow and then transform the sedimentary environment into biogenic rock. Also this habitat has not been included. Instead we
focus on the marine organisms of mud and sand in the nearshore zone. This
book is divided into four thematic sections.
The first four chapters deal with suspension feeders. These often dominate
in zoomass and form conspicuous reefs and dense beds. They rely on a supply
of organic material from the sea, and mediate a particularly intricate benthopelagic coupling. On exposed beaches, this feeding mode is also combined
with high mobility. The variability of food resources on sedimentary shores
has selected for organisms able to alternate between suspension and deposit
feeding.
The ability of organisms to modify the sediment structure and dynamics is
considered in the next four chapters. In particular, benthic micro algae consolidate sediments, while grazers, burrowing and digging animals disturb
these efforts. The interplay of biogenic stabilizing and destabilizing processes
has cascading effects on the composition of the sedimentary coastal biota.
Next seagrasses and zoobenthos are compared between shores with respect
to nutrient supplies, salinity, latitude and biogeographic provinces in five
chapters. These large-scale comparisons reveal striking similarities as well as
unique regional features. However, it is apparent that the global coverage of
studied sites is still too uneven to arrive at sound generalities.
In the last three chapters attention is given to processes determining
structural dynamics in communities and populations, and how these need to
be studied in order to incorporate them into comparisons between distant
sedimentary shores. The roles of disturbance, predators and subsidies from
adjacent ecosystems are considered.
Finally, a synthesis provides an overview to major conclusions from all of
the 16 chapters.
References
Beukema JJ (1991) Changes in composition of bottom fauna of a tidal-flat area during a
period of eutrophication. Mar Bioi 111:293-301
Blackburn TM, Gaston KJ (1998) Some methodological issues in macro ecology. Am Nat
151:68-83