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Cyclical Events in the Life and Death of an Ephemeral Polychaete Reef on a Tropical Mudflat

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Abstract

The polychaete (sabellariid-spionid) reefs at Jeram shore (Malaysia) grow up on soft-bottom mudflats and appear short-lived. It is postulated that such reef building results from the succession of polychaete species in response to the changing environment modulated by the extreme hydrometeorological events. To elucidate the biological succession of the reef cycle in relation to the environment, two reef patches on the intertidal mudflat were studied, both spatially (horizontal and vertical community structure) and temporally (June 2012 to January 2014). The Jeram polychaete reef cycles through four phases within a year: pre-settlement phase (March–May), growth phase comprising primary (May–November) and secondary (October–January) successional stages, stagnation phase (December–January), and destruction phase (January–March). The reef dynamics appear to be linked to the regional monsoon climate and local hydrological conditions. At the onset of the southwest monsoon (May), strong erosive forces initiate the reef’s primary succession of the growth phase where the dominant polychaete Sabellaria jeramae colonize and rapidly grow on the exposed lag deposits of shells. During the northeast monsoon (November–March), stronger depositional forces cover the developed reef with fine sediments that are colonized by another polychaete, the spionid Polydora cavitensis during the reef’s secondary succession of the growth phase. On the muddy substrate surrounding the reef clumps, mudflat polychaetes were the most abundant macrobenthos followed by anomurans, gastropods, carideans, and brachyurans. However, these mudflat macrobenthos play no obvious or direct role in initiating the growth of the reef which is likely the result of settlement of dispersed polychaete larvae from unknown offshore reefs. On the other hand, the reef presence has a positive effect on the presence or abundance of surrounding mudflat macrobenthos such as mudflat polychaetes, shrimps, crabs, and gastropods.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the University of Malaya Research Grant (UMRG) RG131-11SUS for financial support. This work forms part of JJE’s MSc thesis (in preparation). Dr. Khang Tsung Fei (Institute of Mathematical Sciences, University of Malaya) advised JJE on data presentation aspect, drew attention to Jost’s effective number of species, and read the manuscript. Special thanks to Dr. Chris Glasby from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Australia, and Dr. Stanislas Dubois from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France, for identification of polychaetes. Prof. Peter Ng Kee Lin of the Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, is acknowledged for identification of brachyurans, anomurans, and carideans. Thanks are due to the Malaysian Meteorological Department for providing wind data. We are grateful to Dr. G. Polgar and an anonymous reviewer for their useful comments.

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  1. Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Jun Jie Eeo, Ving Ching Chong & A. Sasekumar

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  1. Jun Jie Eeo
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  2. Ving Ching Chong
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Correspondence to Ving Ching Chong.

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 5 Mean density (D, ind. m−3) and relative abundance (%) of polychaete species and morphospecies recorded from the upper and lower reefs at Jeram shore with respect to the primary and secondary succession of the growth phase and stagnation phase
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Appendix 2

Table 6 Mean density (D, ind. m−3) and relative abundance (%) of mudflat macrobenthos recorded from Jeram middle shore and lower shore (surrounding sediments of upper and lower reefs), with respect to the reef’s pre-settlement phase, growth phase (primary succession and secondary succession), stagnation phase, and destruction phase. At middle shore, where there were no reefs, the macrobenthos were also sampled the whole year
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Eeo, J.J., Chong, V.C. & Sasekumar, A. Cyclical Events in the Life and Death of an Ephemeral Polychaete Reef on a Tropical Mudflat. Estuaries and Coasts 40, 1418–1436 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-017-0217-2

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