Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

The predictability of biological populations and communities: an example from the meiobenthos
Herman, P.M.J.; Heip, C.H.R. (1986). The predictability of biological populations and communities: an example from the meiobenthos. Hydrobiologia 142: 281-290. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00026765
In: Hydrobiologia. Springer: The Hague. ISSN 0018-8158; e-ISSN 1573-5117, more
Related to:
Herman, P.M.J.; Heip, C.H.R. (1986). The predictability of biological populations and communities: an example from the meiobenthos, in: Heip, C.H.R. et al. (1987). Long-term changes in coastal benthic communities: Proceedings of a symposium, held in Brussels, Belgium, December 9-12, 1985. Developments in Hydrobiology, 38: pp. 281-290. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4049-9_24, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Aquatic communities > Benthos > Meiobenthos
    Monitoring
    Prediction
    Time series
    Copepoda [WoRMS]
    Marine/Coastal

Authors  Top 
  • Herman, P.M.J., more
  • Heip, C.H.R., more

Abstract
    The predictability of temporal changes was analysed in the population density of three meiobenthic copepod species, and for three parameters characterizing this community. For Paranychocamptus nanus and Tachidius discipes a large part of the variation in time scales longer than 1 year is explainable as cyclic factors. In P. nanus clear cycles with periods of 2 years and 1.5 years were found. These cyclic factors can be extrapolated for prediction. In Canuella perplexa almost all the variation was due to unpredictable long-term drift. Community parameters are generally better predicted than population densities. In our data set total density of the copepods was the best parameter to monitor. Monitoring does not necessitate a strict sampling scheme; irregular quarterly sampling from the P. nanus series showed that the essential features of the series were still discernible.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors