Abstract
Movement of animals on intertidal mudflats can have profound consequences for population and community dynamics. Such movement is often influenced by biotic interactions, but the abiotic environment can also be important, affecting the strength of species’ interactions and even changing their outcome. Here, we focused on two biotic interactions and examined their effect on movement of the burrow-dwelling amphipod Corophium volutator: intraspecific interactions (specifically, the effect of conspecific density) and interspecific interactions with a competitor–predator, the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (=Nassarius obsoletus). We assessed the magnitude of the temporal variation and examined the influence of pertinent abiotic variables (lunar cycle, presence of tide pools). Despite substantial temporal variation in movement levels, density of conspecifics did not influence emigration or immigration rates of C. volutator. Mud snails negatively affected immigration of C. volutator, and this was consistent across all lunar phases. However, mud snails influenced mortality and emigration of C. volutator in a contrasting way relative to lunar phases; sometimes amphipods evaded snails and survived, but at other times did not emigrate and were killed. The presence of tide pools did not change the nature or strength of the snail–amphipod interaction. Our results further clarify the complex interactions between C. volutator and I. obsoleta and suggest that resources on the mudflat are sufficient to sustain high densities of amphipods in a density-independent manner. Further, they highlight the importance of considering multiple environmental variables when examining interspecific interactions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acosta, C.A., and M.J. Butler IV. 1999. Adaptive strategies that reduce predation on Caribbean spiny lobster postlarvae during onshore transport. Limnology and Oceanography 44: 494–501.
Ambrose, W.G. 1984. Role of predatory infauna in structuring marine soft-bottom communities. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 17: 109–115.
Ambrose, W.G. 1986. Experimental analysis of the density-dependent emigration of the amphipod Rhepoxynius abronius. Marine Behaviour and Physiology 12: 209–216.
Armonies, W. 1994. Drifting meiobenthic and macrobenthic invertebrates on tidal flats in Konigshafen—a review. Helgolander Meeresuntersuchungen 48: 299–320.
Barbeau, M.A., L.A. Grecian, E.E. Arnold, D.C. Sheahan, and D.J. Hamilton. 2009. Spatial and temporal variation in the population dynamics of the intertidal amphipod Corophium volutator in the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada. Journal of Crustacean Biology 29: 491–506.
Beal, B.F. 2006. Relative importance of predation and intraspecific competition in regulating growth and survival of juveniles of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria L., at several spatial scales. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 336: 1–17.
Byers, J.E. 2000. Competition between two estuarine snails: implications for invasions of exotic species. Ecology 81: 1225–1239.
Coffin, M.R.S. 2011. Complex interactions between the mud snails Ilyanassa obsoleta and the amphipod Corophium volutator on intertidal mudflats. M.Sc. Thesis, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B., Canada.
Coffin, M.R.S., M.A. Barbeau, D.J. Hamilton, and D. Drolet. 2012. Effect of the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta on vital rates of the intertidal amphipod Corophium volutator. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 418–419: 12–23.
Coffin, M.R.S., D. Drolet, D.J. Hamilton, and M.A. Barbeau. 2008. Effect of immersion at low tide on distribution and movement of the mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say), in the upper Bay of Fundy, eastern Canada. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 364: 110–115.
Commito, J.A. 1982. Importance of predation by infaunal polychaetes in controlling the structure of a soft-bottom community in Maine, USA. Marine Biology 68: 77–81.
Commito, J.A., C.A. Currier, L.R. Kane, K.A. Reinsel, and I.M. Ulm. 1995. Dispersal dynamics of the bivalve Gemma gemma in a patchy environment. Ecological Monographs 65: 1–20.
Connor, M.S., and R.K. Edgar. 1982. Selective grazing by the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta. Oecologia 53: 271–275.
Coulthard, M.E., and D.J. Hamilton. 2011. Effects of Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say) on the abundance and vertical distribution of Corophium volutator (Pallas) on mudflats of the upper Bay of Fundy. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 397: 161–172.
Cranford, P.J. 1988. Behaviour and ecological importance of a mud snail (Ilyanassa obsoleta) population in a temperate macrotidal estuary. Canadian Journal of Zoology 66: 459–466.
Crewe, T.L., D.J. Hamilton, and A.W. Diamond. 2001. Effects of mesh size on sieved samples of Corophium volutator. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 53: 151–154.
Cummings, V.J., R.D. Pridmore, S.F. Thrush, and J.E. Hewitt. 1995. Postsettlement movement by intertidal benthic macroinvertebrates—do common New-Zealand species drift in the water column? New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 29: 59–67.
Curtis, L.A., and L.E. Hurd. 1979. On the broad nutritional requirements of the mud snail Ilyanassa (Nassarius) obsoleta (Say), and its polytrophic role in the food web. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 41: 289–297.
Curtis, L.A., and L.E. Hurd. 1981. Nutrient procurement strategy of a deposit feeding estuarine neogastropod, Ilyanassa obsoleta. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 13: 277–285.
Dittmann, S. 2000. Zonation of benthic communities in a tropical tidal flat of north-east Australia. Journal of Sea Research 43: 33–51.
Drolet, D., and M.A. Barbeau. 2006. Immersion in neutral red solution as a mass-marking technique to study the movement of the amphipod Corophium volutator. Journal of Crustacean Biology 26: 540–542.
Drolet, D., and M.A. Barbeau. 2009a. Diel and semi-lunar cycles in the swimming activity of the intertidal, benthic amphipod Corophium volutator in the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada. Journal of Crustacean Biology 29: 51–56.
Drolet, D., and M.A. Barbeau. 2009b. Differential emigration causes aggregation of the amphipod Corophium volutator (Pallas) in tide pools on mudflats of the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 370: 41–47.
Drolet, D., M.A. Barbeau, M.R.S. Coffin, and D.J. Hamilton. 2009. Effect of the snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say) on dynamics of the amphipod Corophium volutator (Pallas) on an intertidal mudflat. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 368: 189–195.
Drolet, D., and M.A. Barbeau. 2012. Population structure of resident, immigrant, and swimming Corophium volutator (Amphipoda) on an intertidal mudflat in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Journal of Sea Research 70: 1–13.
Drolet, D., and M.A. Barbeau. 2011. Movement patterns drive within-mudflat distribution of an intertidal amphipod. Marine Ecology Progress Series 431: 255–265.
Drolet, D., T.T. Bringloe, M.R.S. Coffin, M.A. Barbeau, and D.J. Hamilton. 2012. Potential for between-mudflat movement and metapopulation dynamics in an intertidal burrowing amphipod. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 449: 197–209.
Elmgran, R., G. Edjung, and S. Ankar. 2001. Intraspecific food competition in the deposit-feeding benthic amphipod Monoporeia affinis—a laboratory study. Marine Ecology Progress Series 210: 185–193.
Flach, E.C. 1992. The influence of 4 macrozoobenthic species on the abundance of the amphipod Corophium volutator on tidal flats of the Wadden sea. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research 29: 379–394.
Flach, E.C., and W. Debruin. 1993. Effects of Arenicola marina and Cerastoderma edule on distribution, abundance and population-structure of Corophium volutator in Gullmarsfjorden Western Sweden. Sarsia 78: 105–118.
Forbes, M.R., D.G. McCurdy, K.K. Lui, S.I. Mautner, and J.S. Boates. 2006. Evidence for seasonal mate limitation in populations of an intertidal amphipod, Corophium volutator (Pallas). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 60: 87–95.
Gerdol, V., and R.G. Hughes. 1994. Feeding-behavior and diet of Corophium volutator in an estuary in southeastern england. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 114: 103–108.
Hamilton, D.J., M.A. Barbeau, and A.W. Diamond. 2003. Shorebirds, mud snails, and Corophium volutator in the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada: predicting bird activity on intertidal mudflats. Canadian Journal of Zoology 81: 1358–1366.
Hamilton, D.J., A.W. Diamond, and P.G. Wells. 2006. Shorebirds, snails, and the amphipod (Corophium volutator) in the upper Bay of Fundy: top-down vs. bottom-up factors, and the influence of compensatory interactions on mudflat ecology. Hydrobiologia 567: 285–306.
Hampel, H., A. Cattrijsse, and M. Vincx. 2003. Tidal, diel and semi-lunar changes in the faunal assemblage of an intertidal salt marsh creek. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 56: 795–805.
Hargrave, B.T., N.J. Prouse, G.A. Phillips, and P.A. Neame. 1983. Primary production and respiration in pelagic and benthic communities at two intertidal sites in the upper Bay of Fundy. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 40: 229–243.
Hicklin, P.W., and P.C. Smith. 1984. Selection of foraging sites and invertebrate prey by migrant Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla (Pallas), in Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy. Canadian Journal of Zoology 62: 2201–2210.
Hill, C. 1992. Interactions between year classes in the benthic amphipod Monoporeia affinis—effects on juvenile survival and growth. Oecologia 91: 157–162.
Hughes, R.G. 1988. Dispersal by benthic invertebrates: the in situ swimming behaviour of the amphipod Corophium volutator. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1988: 565–579.
Hunt, J.H., W.G. Ambrose, and C.H. Peterson. 1987. Effects of the gastropod, Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say) and the bivalve, Mercenaria mercenaria (L.), on larval settlement and juvenile recruitment of infauna. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 108: 229–240.
Jensen, K.T. 1993. Density-dependent growth in cockles (Cerastoderma edule)—evidence from interannual comparisons. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 73: 333–342.
Jensen, K.T., and C. Andre. 1993. Field and laboratory experiments on interactions among an infaunal polychaete, Nereis diversicolor, and 2 amphipods, Corophium volutator and C. arenarium—effects on survival, recruitment and migration. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 168: 259–278.
Jensen, K.T., and L.D. Kristensen. 1990. A field experiment on competition between Corophium volutator (pallas) and Corophium arenarium crawford (Crustacea, Amphipoda)—effects on survival, reproduction and recruitment. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 137: 1–24.
Jerling, H.L., and T.H. Wooldridge. 1992. Lunar influence on distribution of a calanoid copepod in the water column. Marine Biology 112: 309–312.
Kelaher, B.P., J.S. Levinton, and J.M. Hoch. 2003. Foraging by the mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say), modulates spatial variation in benthic community structure. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 292: 139–157.
Kotta, J., and E. Olafsson. 2003. Competition for food between the introduced polychaete Marenzelleria viridis (Verrill) and the native amphipod Monoporeia affinis (Lindstrom) in the Baltic Sea. Journal of Sea Research 50: 27–35.
Krang, A.S., and S.P. Baden. 2004. The ability of the amphipod Corophium volutator (Pallas) to follow chemical signals from con-specifics. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 310: 195–206.
Lenihan, H.S., and F. Micheli. 2001. Soft-sediment communities. In Marine community ecology, ed. M.D. Bertness, S.D. Gaines, and M.E. Hay, 253–287. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates.
Levin, L.A. 1982. Interference interactions among tube-dwelling polychaetes in a dense infaunal assemblage. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 65: 107–119.
Levinton, J. 1972. Stability and trophic structure in deposit-feeding and suspension-feeding communities. American Naturalist 106: 472–486.
Levinton, J.S. 1979. The effect of density upon deposit-feeding populations: movement, feeding and floating of Hydrobia ventrosa Montagu (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia). Oecologia 43: 27–39.
Levinton, J.S., S. Stewart, and T.H. Dewitt. 1985. Field and laboratory experiments on interference between Hydrobia totteni and Ilyanassa obsoleta (Gastropoda) and its possible relation to seasonal shifts in vertical mudflat zonation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 22: 53–58.
McCurdy, D.G., M.R. Forbes, S.P. Logan, D. Lancaster, and S.I. Mautner. 2005. Foraging and impacts by benthic fish on the intertidal amphipod Corophium volutator. Journal of Crustacean Biology 25: 558–564.
Meadows, P.S. 1964. Experiments on substrate selection by Corophium volutator (Pallas): depth selection and population density. Journal of Experimental Biology 41: 677–687.
Meadows, P.S., and A. Reid. 1966. The behaviour of Corophium volutator (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Journal of Zoology 150: 387–399.
Metaxas, A., and R.E. Scheibling. 1993. Community structure and organization of tide pools. Marine Ecology Progress Series 98: 187–198.
Mouritsen, K.N., L.T. Mouritsen, and K.T. Jensen. 1998. Change of topography and sediment characteristics on an intertidal mud-flat following mass-mortality of the amphipod Corophium volutator. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 78: 1167–1180.
Nichols, J.A., and J.R. Robertson. 1979. Field evidence that the eastern mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta, influences nematode community structure. Nautilus 93: 44–46.
Olafsson, E.B. 1986. Density dependence in suspension-feeding and deposit-feeding populations of the bivavle Macoma balthica: a field experiment. Journal of Animal Ecology 55: 517–526.
Peer, D.L., L.E. Linkletter, and P.W. Hicklin. 1986. Life history and reproductive biology of Corophium volutator (Crustacea: Amphipoda) and the influence of shorebird predation on population structure in Chignecto Bay, Bay of Fundy, Canada. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research 20: 359–373.
Penteriani, V., A. Kuparinen, M. de Mar Delgado, R. Lourenço, and L. Campioni. 2011. Individual status, foraging effort and need for conspicuousness shape behavioural responses of a predator to moon phases. Animal Behaviour 82: 413–420.
Peterson, C.H. 1977. Competitive organization of the soft-bottom macrobenthic communities of Southern California lagoons. Marine Biology 43: 343–359.
Peterson, C.H. 1982. The importance of predation and intra- and interspecific competition of two infaunal suspension-feeding bivalves, Protothaca staminea and Chione undatella. Ecological Monographs 52: 437–475.
Peterson, C.H., and S.V. Andre. 1980. An experimental analysis of interspecific competition among marine filter feeders in a soft-sediment environment. Ecology 61: 129–139.
Quammen, M.L. 1984. Predation by shorebirds, fish, and crabs on invertebrates in intertidal mudflats: an experimental test. Ecology 65: 529–537.
Richards, M.G., M. Huxham, and A. Bryant. 1999. Predation: a causal mechanism for variability in intertidal bivalve populations. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 241: 159–177.
Scheiner, S.M. 2001. MANOVA: multiple response variables and multispecies interactions. In Designs and analysis of ecological experiments, ed. S.M. Scheiner and J. Gurevitch, 96–112. New York: Chapman and Hall.
Schneider, S.D., J.S. Boates, and M. Forbes. 1994. Sex-ratios of Corophium volutator (Pallas) (Crustacea, Amphipoda) in Bay of Fundy populations. Canadian Journal of Zoology 72: 1915–1921.
Smith, D., R.G. Hughes, and J.E. Cox. 1996. Predation of epipelic diatoms by the amphipod Corophium volutator and the polychaete Nereis diversicolor. Marine Ecology Progress Series 145: 53–61.
Snelgrove, P.V.R., and C.A. Butman. 1994. Animal sediment relationships revisited—cause versus effect. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 32: 111–177.
Sprague, A.J., D.J. Hamilton, and A.W. Diamond. 2008. Site safety and food affect movements of Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) migrating through the upper Bay of Fundy. Avian Conservation Ecology 3: 4. [online] url: http://www.ace-eco.org/vol3/iss2/art4/
Trites, M., I. Kaczmarska, J.M. Ehrman, P.W. Hicklin, and J. Ollerhead. 2005. Diatoms from two macro-tidal mudflats in Chignecto Bay, Upper Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. Hydrobiologia 544: 299–319.
Turchin, P. 1998. Quantitative analysis of movement: measuring and modeling population redistribution in plants and animals. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates.
Vinagre, C., S. França, and H.N. Cabral. 2006. Diel and semi-lunar patterns in the use of intertidal mudflat by juveniles of Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis. Estuarine Coastal, and Shelf Science 69: 246–254.
Watkins, E.E. 1941. The yearly life-cycle of the amphipod Corophium volutator. Journal of Animal Ecology 10: 77–93.
Wenngren, J., and E. Olafsson. 2002. Intraspecific competition for food within and between year classes in the deposit-feeding amphipod Monoporeia affinis—the cause of population fluctuations? Marine Ecology Progress Series 240: 205–213.
Wilson, W.H. 1988. Shifting zones in a Bay of Fundy soft-sediment community: patterns and processes. Ophelia 29: 227–245.
Wilson, W.H. 1989. Predation and the mediation of intraspecific competition in an infaunal community in the Bay of Fundy. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 132: 221–245.
Wilson, W.H. 1990. Competition and predation in marine soft-sediment communities. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 21: 221–241.
Acknowledgments
We thank A. Botta, T. Bringloe, L. Bursey, G. Deleavey, T. Gerwing, J. Horsfall, K. Kennedy, J. Murray, and N. Robar for their help in the field and laboratory. The research was supported by Strategic Project and Discovery grants from the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) to MAB and DJH, the Science Horizons Internship Program (Environment Canada), and the Canada Summer Jobs program (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada). DD received financial support from a NSERC post-graduate scholarship, a Board of Governor Merit Award (University of New Brunswick [UNB]), and a Marguerite and Murray Vaughan Fellowship in Marine Sciences (UNB). MRSC received financial support from Mprime (a Network of Centres of Excellence for the mathematical sciences), a Marguerite and Murray Vaughan Fellowship in Marine Sciences, and a R.C. Frazee Scholarship (UNB).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Online Resource 1
(DOCX 105 kb)
Online Resource 2
(DOCX 106 kb)
Online Resource 3
(DOCX 109 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Drolet, D., Coffin, M.R.S., Barbeau, M.A. et al. Influence of Intra- and Interspecific Interactions on Short-term Movement of the Amphipod Corophium volutator in Varying Environmental Conditions. Estuaries and Coasts 36, 940–950 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9605-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9605-4