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Effects of short-term rain events on mobile macrofauna living on seawalls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2007

David J. Blockley ,
Victoria J. Cole ,
Julie People  and
M. Gabriela Palomo
David J. Blockley
Affiliation:
Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories (A11),University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Victoria J. Cole
Affiliation:
Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories (A11),University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Julie People
Affiliation:
Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories (A11),University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
M. Gabriela Palomo
Affiliation:
Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories (A11),University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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Abstract

The distribution and abundance of intertidal organisms can be affected by short-term events, such as rain. We compared the effects of rain on intertidal mobile invertebrates in four common microhabitats with differing amounts of shelter (namely beds of oysters, coralline turf, bare patches and crevices) on sea walls in Sydney Harbour. There was an effect of rain on some, but not all taxa, although this was not consistent between locations or times. Effects of rain were observed for some species of gastropods and crustaceans, but not for polychaetes. Manipulative experiments using artificial rain indicated that rain, without the presence of run-off and independent of potential temporal confounding from differences in weather conditions, has a negative effect on abundances of amphipods in coralline turf. Pulse responses by mobile organisms to short-term rain events should be considered when designing experiments looking at temporal variability and processes responsible for observed patterns of distribution of marine organisms.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 87 , Issue 5 , October 2007 , pp. 1069 - 1074
Copyright
2007 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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