Colonization of azoic sediment by sublittoral meiofauna in Gullmar Fjord -- Swedish west coast

Abstract

Settling boxes with azoic, artificial or natural, sediment were exposed on a soft bottom at 27 m depth in May 1979. One box of each type was sampled every other month for one year and also in October 1980 and 1981. The harpacticoids dominated the early colonizations, with 67% of total abundance in both sediments after two months. Temporary meiofauna showed high autumn numbers. Other meiofauna groups showed low colonizaton rates. After 1 1/2 year of exposure the total abundance (3.6.10 super(3) ind./10 cm super(2)) and biomass (2.5.10 super(-3) g ash-free dry weight/10 cm super(2)) were still significantly lower than in the surrounding sediment