Biological factors as a community structuring mechanism for the infaunal, benthic community : a review of recent studies and their problems

概要

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A bird's-eye view was given of a trend of the studies on soft-bottom benthic communities in the last ten years, which stress biological interactions for their structuring mechanism.In these works three major tendencies could be recognized: 1. Descriptions about the historical and regional diversification of different functional groups based on feeding-and mobility modes. 2. Efforts to elucidate the role of dynamic interactions between species or species groups in the same trophic level for the cause of segregation of several species assemblages. These interactions have been considered to operate between adults or between adults and larvae, indirectly through bioturbation and/or directly through interference with one another and ingestion of larvae by established adults. 3. Attempts to evaluate the influences of predators as a modifier of the species composition of the benthic communities. Fundamental and methodological problems we often encounter in the field and the laboratory were examined, when we are to observe and carry out experiments to quantify the contribution of each of those biological factors separated from that of physical ones.
日本ベントス学会の論文