| A cage exclusion experiment was used to examine the interaction between the epibenthos (permanent and visiting) and the macroinfauna of a high intertidal Kenyan <i>Avicennia marina</i> mangrove sediment. Densities of Oligochaeta (families Tubificidae and Enchytraeidae), Amphipoda, Insecta larvae, Polychaeta and macro-Nematoda, and a broad range of environmental factors were followed over 5 mo of caging. A significant increase of amphipod and insect larvae densities in the cages indicated a positive exclusion effect, while no such effect was observed for oligochaetes (Tubificidae in particular), polychaetes or macronematodes. Resource competitive interactions were a plausible explanation for the status of the amphipod community. This was... |
