Abstract
The structure and trophic organization of two intertidal seagrass-bed communities (Halodule uninervis and Thalassia hemprichii) were examined on the southwest coast of New Caledonia (SW Pacific Ocean), from April 1989 to March 1990. Five benthic samples were collected from each site at 2 mo intervals and various environmental parameters were simultaneously monitored. Animal:plant biomass ratios were close to 1 at both sites. Polychaetes dominated in number of species. The suspension-feeding bivalves Gafrarium tumidum and Anadara scapha constituted the greater part of the animal biomass. The evolution of the communities over an annual cycle displayed marked structural and organizational stability, resulting mainly from the absence of distinct recruitment periods for the dominant species, no mortalities during the brief low-salinity periods, and no temporal variations in the granulometry, the organic matter or the chlorophyll a contents of the sediments.
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Communicated by J. M. Pérès, Marseille
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Baron, J., Clavier, J. & Thomassin, B.A. Structure and temporal fluctuations of two intertidal seagrass-bed communities in New Caledonia (SW Pacific Ocean). Marine Biology 117, 139–144 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346436
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346436