Abstract
Toward the end of the low water period in two seasonal tropical water bodies, we observed drastic declines in densities of dominant groups of macrofauna (Chironomidae, Oligochaeta and Ostracoda). This, however, was not accompanied by reductions in the densities of meiofauna (Nematoda, small (< 3 mm) Chironomidae and Oligochaeta). The decline of macrofauna was correlated with growing numbers of large, mobile, carnivorous invertebrates (Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Decapoda: Macrobrachium) and small, gape-limited fish, which emigrated from drying habitats and concentrated in places that predation pressure has been directed mainly towards macrofauna. Alternative hypotheses are discussed.
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Prejs, K., Prejs, A. Importance of predation in regulating density of meio- and macrofauna in seasonal tropical waters. Hydrobiologia 242, 77–86 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00018063
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00018063