Burrowing Shrimps and Seagrass Dynamics in Shallow-Water Meadows off Bolinao (New Philippines) : UNESCO-IHE PhD

This study examines the role of small-scale disturbance by burrowing shrimps and its interaction with seagrass performance against a changing background of anthropogenically altered sediment dynamics. It establishes that the two types of burrowing shrimps redistribute considerable quantities of sediment with siginificant substrate effects on depth gradients of organic matter, grain size and nitrogen.

Based on research in Bolinao, this book assesses the importance of small-scale disturbance by burrowing shrimps. It covers the distribution of burrowing shrimp disturbance, the behavior of the snapping shrimp Alpheus macellarius in situ and as observed from tank experiments, and the effects of short-term burial and leaf clipping on the growth patterns of the dominant seagrass Thalassia hemprichii. The book examines the role of bioturbation by burrowing shrimps in seagrass meadows, foraging strategies of A. macellarius and its mutualistic symbiosis with Cryptocentrus spp., shrimp disturbance and T. hemprichii, and small-scale disturbance and large-scale dynamics.