Comparison of nematode communities in Baltic and North Sea sublittoral, permeable sands – Diversity and environmental control

The structure of free-living nematode communities was investigated seasonally at two sandy locations representing typical shallow sublittoral, permeable environments of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. At the Baltic study site the chlorophyll and organic carbon concentrations in the sediment were, on average, four times lower than at the North Sea. Highest nematode densities (1674–4100 ind. 10 cm−2) and a higher number of free-living nematode genera (66) were recorded in the North Sea (Baltic: 206–1227 ind. 10 cm−2, 30 genera). Despite lower salinity and lower food availability the less dense and less diverse Baltic nematode community was similar in generic composition to the North Sea community. At the North Sea site, all trophic groups according to Wieser's classification were present with omnivores/predators, dominated by Viscosia, prevailing and followed by epistrate-feeders. In the food-limited Baltic community, non-selective deposit feeders (mainly Ascolaimus, Axonolaimus and Daptonema) and omnivores/predators dominated by Enoplolaimus were the most abundant trophic groups while selective deposit feeders were absent or their contribution was negligible. An analysis of the vertical generic distribution revealed highest diversity of the Baltic community in deeper sediment layers, below the sediment surface affected by ripple migration and near the interface of oxic and anoxic conditions. The diversity pattern in the North Sea sediment was more variable but generally showed high diversity in the upper centimetre of the sediment. These observations suggest that food supply and sediment oxygenation are the most important factors influencing the vertical pattern of nematode generic diversity in sublittoral, permeable sands.