Impact of historic sediment characterisation on predicting polychaete distributions: a case study of so-called muddy habitat shovelhead worms (Annelida: Magelonidae)
{"title":"Impact of historic sediment characterisation on predicting polychaete distributions: a case study of so-called muddy habitat shovelhead worms (Annelida: Magelonidae)","authors":"Kimberley Mills, Kate Mortimer","doi":"10.1017/s0025315423000826","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Shovelhead worms are common polychaetes around the British Isles and have been recorded in numerous ecological surveys. Yet, understanding of their habitat conditions is poor, based heavily on visual observations of sediments from historical records. In this study, the drivers of abundance and geographical distribution of two morphologically and behaviourally diverse species <jats:italic>Magelona alleni</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Magelona minuta</jats:italic> are investigated by reanalysing sediment characteristics and depths from museum marine monitoring surveys. Although both species are historically associated with muddy sediments, the records herein suggest that <jats:italic>M. alleni</jats:italic> occurs in an extensive range of sediments, but is more abundant at localities with more than 25% sand. In comparison, <jats:italic>M. minuta</jats:italic> shows a negative linear relationship between grain diameter and abundance, corroborating previous work that the species is abundant in fine-grained mud. The depth records show that while <jats:italic>M. alleni</jats:italic> predominates below 60 m, <jats:italic>M. minuta</jats:italic> is a distinct offshore species. These differences may be attributed to the interspecific variation in morphology and motility between the species: <jats:italic>M. alleni</jats:italic> is stout and tube-dwelling, while <jats:italic>M. minuta</jats:italic> is fragile, small, and fairly motile. To corroborate these findings, sediment grains from tubes of <jats:italic>M. alleni</jats:italic> were classified using the Udden–Wentworth grain size scale and suggest sand is the key component for tube construction. Overall, this study highlights that sediment parameters for <jats:italic>M. alleni</jats:italic> have been misinterpreted and generalised in historical records, emphasising the importance of quantitative sediment analysis in defining the habitat of <jats:italic>Magelona</jats:italic>.","PeriodicalId":17477,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315423000826","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MARINE & FRESHWATER BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Shovelhead worms are common polychaetes around the British Isles and have been recorded in numerous ecological surveys. Yet, understanding of their habitat conditions is poor, based heavily on visual observations of sediments from historical records. In this study, the drivers of abundance and geographical distribution of two morphologically and behaviourally diverse species Magelona alleni and Magelona minuta are investigated by reanalysing sediment characteristics and depths from museum marine monitoring surveys. Although both species are historically associated with muddy sediments, the records herein suggest that M. alleni occurs in an extensive range of sediments, but is more abundant at localities with more than 25% sand. In comparison, M. minuta shows a negative linear relationship between grain diameter and abundance, corroborating previous work that the species is abundant in fine-grained mud. The depth records show that while M. alleni predominates below 60 m, M. minuta is a distinct offshore species. These differences may be attributed to the interspecific variation in morphology and motility between the species: M. alleni is stout and tube-dwelling, while M. minuta is fragile, small, and fairly motile. To corroborate these findings, sediment grains from tubes of M. alleni were classified using the Udden–Wentworth grain size scale and suggest sand is the key component for tube construction. Overall, this study highlights that sediment parameters for M. alleni have been misinterpreted and generalised in historical records, emphasising the importance of quantitative sediment analysis in defining the habitat of Magelona.
期刊介绍:
JMBA is an international journal, publishing original research on all aspects of marine biology. It includes pioneering work taking place today on major issues concerning marine organisms and their environment. Subjects covered include: ecological surveys and population studies of marine communities; physiology and experimental biology; taxonomy, morphology and life history of marine animals and plants; and chemical and physical oceanographic work. Included with 2010 online subscriptions: Marine Biodiversity Records.