부산대학교 도서관

The hydrobiological significance of transport dynamics and physicochemical properties of mud was discussed with the help of previous reports on the ecology of benthic fauna in muddy bottoms and on fluid dynamics and suspended mud affecting the survivorship of benthic animals. When we consider the habitat discrimination between suspension feeders and deposit feeders, as well as the physiological effects of mud on suspension-feeding bivalves, it is important to understand not only the sediment quality itself but also the interaction with other environmental factors such as fluid motion that enhances the resuspension of mud particles. Benthic organisms in muddy environments permanently live in an environment with severe disturbances caused by hypoxia and hydraulic erosion on the sediment ; therefore, refugia, namely, local habitats where they can escape from both types of disturbance, should be provided for persistence of their populations. In the case of species with short life cycles that potentially reproduce all year round, adult survivors living in refugia could spawn quickly after the environmental disturbance has diminished, giving their offspring the chance to dominate resources on the seafloor. Flume experiments conducted in the past have informed us that the relative importance of active habitat selection and passive transport of metamorphosing larvae and critical flow velocities that erode clam juveniles buried in sand is species-specific.