Recovery of meiofauna communities following mudflat disturbance by trampling associated with crab-tiling

The provision of artificial shelters for the collection of crabs, known as crab-tiling, and the subsequent harvesting of the soft “peeler” crabs for angling bait, are associated with trampling disturbance of intertidal mudflats in the United Kingdom. Recovery of meiofauna communities following crab-tiling activity was investigated on an intertidal mudflat in SW England. Harvesting of experimental plots was reproduced six times over a 2-week period. Meiofauna was collected at low tides 12 h, 36 h and 144 h after treatment. Meiofaunal and nematode abundance, and nematode species number, was significantly greater in controls compared to crab-tile stations at 12 h. At 36 h and 144 h there were no significant differences between treatments, indicating recovery had occurred in 12–36 h. Multivariate analysis showed nematode assemblage composition from control plots to be significantly different from crab-tile plots at 12 h. No significant differences were observed between sediment physical parameters with treatment. Results suggest that the predominant effect of disturbance may be vibration-induced burial, which causes nematodes to bury deeper into the sediment, beyond the depth sampled, and explains the rapid recovery.