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Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems

Aspects of the feeding strategies and digestive invertebrate-microbial interactions of two saltmarsh thalassinid detritivores, the mudprawn Upogebia africana (Ortmann) and the sandprawn Callianassa kraussi Stebbing were examined. Resources available in their respective habitats were investigated tog...

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Main Author: Harris, Jean Mary
Other Authors: Lucas, Michael I
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Biological Sciences 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author Harris, Jean Mary
author2 Lucas, Michael I
author_browse Harris, Jean Mary
Lucas, Michael I
author_facet Lucas, Michael I
Harris, Jean Mary
author_sort Harris, Jean Mary
collection Thesis
description Aspects of the feeding strategies and digestive invertebrate-microbial interactions of two saltmarsh thalassinid detritivores, the mudprawn Upogebia africana (Ortmann) and the sandprawn Callianassa kraussi Stebbing were examined. Resources available in their respective habitats were investigated together with the feeding apparatus, diet and digestive enzymes necessary for hydrolysis of refractory compounds of detritus. U. africana inhabits the upper reaches of Langebaan lagoon (Geelbek),. while C. kraussi was sampled near the mouth (Oesterwal). Both species occur intertidally. Physical characteristics of sediment and water fluctuate more widely at Geelbek than at Oesterwal. Geelbek also has higher mud and clay content in the sediment, and greater particulate load in the water. The resources available in both sediment and water from Geelbek were of greater quality (assessed by proportion of living component, C:N ratio) and quantity. In terms of distribution ofthe resource, quality was highest in surface sediments, while quality was greatest at burrow linings. The mode of feeding, gut structure and diet of the two prawn species differ, although gut throughput rates are similar (ca. 6h). U. africana is a filter feeder which non-selectively ingests small particles which are further sorted in the modified filtertype gastric mill into larger particles which enter the midgut, and smaller particles which are channeled into the hepatopancreas. U. africana has a relatively large throughput gut (fore, mid, hind) allowing large meals to be taken. This may be related to its reliance on vascular plant detritus for both carbon and nitrogen requirements, as shown by stable isotope analyses. By contrast, C. kraussi feeds by a combination of deposit feeding and filter feeding.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:51:55.793Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18326 Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems Harris, Jean Mary Lucas, Michael I Branch, George M Zoology Aspects of the feeding strategies and digestive invertebrate-microbial interactions of two saltmarsh thalassinid detritivores, the mudprawn Upogebia africana (Ortmann) and the sandprawn Callianassa kraussi Stebbing were examined. Resources available in their respective habitats were investigated together with the feeding apparatus, diet and digestive enzymes necessary for hydrolysis of refractory compounds of detritus. U. africana inhabits the upper reaches of Langebaan lagoon (Geelbek),. while C. kraussi was sampled near the mouth (Oesterwal). Both species occur intertidally. Physical characteristics of sediment and water fluctuate more widely at Geelbek than at Oesterwal. Geelbek also has higher mud and clay content in the sediment, and greater particulate load in the water. The resources available in both sediment and water from Geelbek were of greater quality (assessed by proportion of living component, C:N ratio) and quantity. In terms of distribution ofthe resource, quality was highest in surface sediments, while quality was greatest at burrow linings. The mode of feeding, gut structure and diet of the two prawn species differ, although gut throughput rates are similar (ca. 6h). U. africana is a filter feeder which non-selectively ingests small particles which are further sorted in the modified filtertype gastric mill into larger particles which enter the midgut, and smaller particles which are channeled into the hepatopancreas. U. africana has a relatively large throughput gut (fore, mid, hind) allowing large meals to be taken. This may be related to its reliance on vascular plant detritus for both carbon and nitrogen requirements, as shown by stable isotope analyses. By contrast, C. kraussi feeds by a combination of deposit feeding and filter feeding. 2016-03-28T14:43:21Z 2016-03-28T14:43:21Z 1992 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18326 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Zoology
Harris, Jean Mary
Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems
title_full Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems
title_fullStr Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems
title_full_unstemmed Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems
title_short Relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems
title_sort relationships between invertebrate detritivores and gut bacteria in marine systems
topic Zoology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18326
work_keys_str_mv AT harrisjeanmary relationshipsbetweeninvertebratedetritivoresandgutbacteriainmarinesystems