I guess you could think of the benthic area of a marine aquarium as a mystery. You can also be very vague and puzzled as to why sandbeds can be such a vital part of an aquarium. If you think of a sandbed as three very
distinct and diverse sediment layers, each with its own importance due to population and species of organisms that reside in these sedimentary layers. The three sedimentary levels are the top layer which is where the water and top of the substrate meet, known as the aerobic layer. The second layer is the anaerobic layer with the third and final layer or anoxic layer at the bottom of the tank.
Many of you may not be aware of the diversity and plethora of living organisms that reside amongst the three sedimentary zones. Some of these organisms live on, under or between the grains of substrate and then there are those organisms that are so small that they actually spend their entire life situated on one grain of sand for life not knowing of any other life form.
The top layer or the aerobic layer is made up of most, if not all, of the clean up crew inhabitants residing in a marine environment. Polychaete worms, microcrustaceans, sessile invertebrates, snails, crabs, aerobic bacteria and algae. Their is such an abundance of food stuff available for the plethora of life found in the first layer of sediment. Much of this food such as flake food, shrimp, biofilm, bacteria, plankton, detritus that accumulates on the bottom/ benthic area gets there either through diffusion, advection, water flow or animal life forms. Often rich in nutrients and diverse in animal life this layer is the most abundant in terms of life due to the oxygen and food surplus found there. In this aerobic area you also will find alot of competition for food as well as a predatory/prey relationship within the hierarchy of the food chain. The largest sediment organisms will be found in the aerobic areas, with smaller organisms found as the sediment layer gets deeper with less oxygen and nutrients. This scenario is best illustrated as the food chain or food web, where the larger animals feed upon the smaller animals found below them on the chain of life.
Many of you may not be aware of the diversity and plethora of living organisms that reside amongst the three sedimentary zones. Some of these organisms live on, under or between the grains of substrate and then there are those organisms that are so small that they actually spend their entire life situated on one grain of sand for life not knowing of any other life form.
The top layer or the aerobic layer is made up of most, if not all, of the clean up crew inhabitants residing in a marine environment. Polychaete worms, microcrustaceans, sessile invertebrates, snails, crabs, aerobic bacteria and algae. Their is such an abundance of food stuff available for the plethora of life found in the first layer of sediment. Much of this food such as flake food, shrimp, biofilm, bacteria, plankton, detritus that accumulates on the bottom/ benthic area gets there either through diffusion, advection, water flow or animal life forms. Often rich in nutrients and diverse in animal life this layer is the most abundant in terms of life due to the oxygen and food surplus found there. In this aerobic area you also will find alot of competition for food as well as a predatory/prey relationship within the hierarchy of the food chain. The largest sediment organisms will be found in the aerobic areas, with smaller organisms found as the sediment layer gets deeper with less oxygen and nutrients. This scenario is best illustrated as the food chain or food web, where the larger animals feed upon the smaller animals found below them on the chain of life.
|
|
Type in Your Comments Below