Effects of physical disturbance, isolation and key macrozoobenthic species on community development, recolonisation and sedimentation

Abstract

The relative effect of physical disturbance, isolation and keymacrozoobenthic species on community development and sedimentationprocesses were studied in an in situ factorial field mesocosmexperiment in the northern Baltic Sea. Differences in abundanceand biomass structure of recolonising invertebrates were dueto exposure and isolation. The initial invertebrate communitieshad a negligible effect on the final communities. However, theorganic matter content of the sediment in isolated cages increasedwith the initial number of invertebrate species. The main conclusionof the study: physically driven fluxes override the effects ofbiological interactions in shallow water systems of the northernBaltic Sea.

Keywords

• Baltic Sea
• Ecosystem functioning
• Field experiment
• Functional diversity
• Physical disturbance