Control of meiobenthic abundance by macroepifauna in a subtidal muddy habitat

In order to assess the effects of macrofauna on meiofaunal community structure, field investigations were performed in a low energy subtidal muddy sediment in Loch Creran, a sea-loch on the west coast of Scotland.Meiofaunal colonization of azoic sediment in cages designed to exclude macrofauna to varylng degrees was studied.After 1 mo nematode density in all 15 cages was less than a third of ambient density.In none of the cages did the nematodes reach ambient densities within the experimental period.Copepods attained background levels in 3 mo in all cages and were in higher numbers in cages designed to exclude all macrofauna.Results indicate that small to medium sized macroepifauna control the densities of copepods at the study site.