Impact of historic sediment characterisation on predicting polychaete distributions: a case study of so-called muddy habitat shovelhead worms (Annelida: Magelonidae)

Mills, Kimberley and Mortimer, Kate 2023. Impact of historic sediment characterisation on predicting polychaete distributions: a case study of so-called muddy habitat shovelhead worms (Annelida: Magelonidae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 103 , E92. 10.1017/S0025315423000826

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Abstract

Shovelhead worms are common polychaetes around the British Isles and have been recorded in numerous ecological surveys. Yet, understanding of their habitat conditions is poor, based heavily on visual observations of sediments from historical records. In this study, the drivers of abundance and geographical distribution of two morphologically and behaviourally diverse species Magelona alleni and Magelona minuta are investigated by reanalysing sediment characteristics and depths from museum marine monitoring surveys. Although both species are historically associated with muddy sediments, the records herein suggest that M. alleni occurs in an extensive range of sediments, but is more abundant at localities with more than 25% sand. In comparison, M. minuta shows a negative linear relationship between grain diameter and abundance, corroborating previous work that the species is abundant in fine-grained mud. The depth records show that while M. alleni predominates below 60 m, M. minuta is a distinct offshore species. These differences may be attributed to the interspecific variation in morphology and motility between the species: M. alleni is stout and tube-dwelling, while M. minuta is fragile, small, and fairly motile. To corroborate these findings, sediment grains from tubes of M. alleni were classified using the Udden–Wentworth grain size scale and suggest sand is the key component for tube construction. Overall, this study highlights that sediment parameters for M. alleni have been misinterpreted and generalised in historical records, emphasising the importance of quantitative sediment analysis in defining the habitat of Magelona.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0025-3154
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 November 2023
Date of Acceptance:	27 October 2023
Last Modified:	28 Nov 2023 12:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/164364

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