Persistent effects of physical disturbance on meiobenthos in mangrove sediments

Disturbance is an important factor in structuring ecological communities, exerting its influence through changes to the physical environment and to the trajectories of successional processes. Marine environments are subject to a wide range of disturbances and while much is known about the effects of disturbance on macrobenthos in unconsolidated sediments, little is known about the responses of meiobenthos to disturbance in consolidated sediments, such as mangroves. Trampling was used to study the response of meiobenthos to disturbance in mangrove sediments. Even light trampling appeared to break up the mangrove root mat and increased the proportion of fine sediment. Densities of meiobenthos increased 2–3-fold in disturbed sediments, but there was no evidence of disproportionate abundance. Temporal variability was similar in all treatments, but spatial variability increased 4–5-fold in disturbed sediments. Effects persisted for at least 24 months, with little evidence of convergence of treatments. Meiobenthos may have exploited the increase in habitat resulting from loss of the root mat and possibly benefited from increased food from the decomposition of root material. These effects are likely to persist for several years because of the minimal recovery of the root mat.