Johnson Gareth E L, Attrill Martin J, Sheehan Emma V, Somerfield Paul J
Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Marine Institute, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
Mar Environ Res. 2007 Oct;64(4):409-16. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2007.03.002. Epub 2007 Mar 20.
The provision of artificial shelters for the collection of crabs, known as crab-tiling, and the subsequent harvesting of the soft "peeler" crabs for angling bait, are associated with trampling disturbance of intertidal mudflats in the United Kingdom. Recovery of meiofauna communities following crab-tiling activity was investigated on an intertidal mudflat in SW England. Harvesting of experimental plots was reproduced six times over a 2-week period. Meiofauna was collected at low tides 12h, 36 h and 144 h after treatment. Meiofaunal and nematode abundance, and nematode species number, was significantly greater in controls compared to crab-tile stations at 12h. At 36 h and 144 h there were no significant differences between treatments, indicating recovery had occurred in 12-36 h. Multivariate analysis showed nematode assemblage composition from control plots to be significantly different from crab-tile plots at 12h. No significant differences were observed between sediment physical parameters with treatment. Results suggest that the predominant effect of disturbance may be vibration-induced burial, which causes nematodes to bury deeper into the sediment, beyond the depth sampled, and explains the rapid recovery.
为捕蟹提供人工庇护所（即蟹瓦），以及随后捕捞软质“脱壳”蟹作为钓鱼诱饵，这与英国潮间带泥滩遭受的践踏干扰有关。在英格兰西南部的一个潮间带泥滩上，研究了蟹瓦活动后小型底栖动物群落的恢复情况。在两周内对实验地块进行了六次收割模拟。在处理后的12小时、36小时和144小时的低潮时收集小型底栖动物。在12小时时，与蟹瓦站点相比，对照中微型动物和线虫的丰度以及线虫物种数量显著更高。在36小时和144小时时，处理之间没有显著差异，表明在12 - 36小时内已经发生了恢复。多变量分析表明，在12小时时，对照地块的线虫组合组成与蟹瓦地块有显著差异。处理后的沉积物物理参数之间未观察到显著差异。结果表明，干扰的主要影响可能是振动引起的掩埋，这导致线虫埋入沉积物更深的地方，超出采样深度，这也解释了其快速恢复的原因。
