Ecological functioning of free-living marine nematodes in
coastal wetlands: an overview
Yongfen Du 1• Shu Gao 1• Richard M Warwick2• Er Hua 3
1The Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development of Ministry of Education, Nanjing University, Nanjing
210023, China;
2 Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, West Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UK;
3 College of Marine Life Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
Table S1 The main meiofauna abundance (×103 inds m-2) and their percentage at the top of 4 cm
layers in two tidal channels in Luoyuan Bay, Fujian Province, eastern China [1]
Large tidal channel
Meiofauna
groups
Erosional side
Small tidal channel
Depositional side
Erosional side
Depositional side
Nematoda
3,081±427
98.5 %
4,321±212
98.8 %
3,080±476
97.7 %
3,598±84
99.0 %
Copepoda
113±65
3.5 %
37±22
0.8 %
58±6
1.8 %
27±17
0.80 %
Kinorhyncha
15±7
0.5 %
10±2
0%
5±3
0.2 %
1±1
0%
Polychaeta
1±1
0%
1±2
0.1 %
3±3
0.1 %
5±6
0.1 %
Ostracoda
4±3
0.1 %
3±2
0%
3±5
0.1 %
1±1
0%
Halacaroidea
0±1
0%
1±2
0%
1±2
0%
0
Cumacea
0
0
0
0
Bivalvia
0
1±2
0
0±1
Crab
0
0
0
0
Nauplii
0
0
3±3
0.1 %
1±1
Amphipoda
0
0
0±1
0%
0
Oligochaeta
0
0
1±2
0%
0
Total
3,215±490
4,374±214
3,154±485
3,635±78
N/Ca)
38 ±27
157 ±104
53 ±5 (47－57)
209±188
0%
0%
a) N/C = ratio of nematodes to copepods (The ratio is calculated as the number of the nematodes in
a sample divided by the number of the copepods in the same sample).
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Table S2 Some representative investigations carried out in China seas
Sampling
area
Bohai Sea (Yellow
River estuary)
Sampling
date
The Yellow Sea (YS)
The East China Sea
The South China
Sea (Beibu gulf)
Shelf waters in the
southern of YS
Subtidal area in the
southern of YS
The whole area
Changjiang
River estuary
Taiwan Strait
Jul.－Aug. 1986
Jan. 2003
June 2003
Jul. 2008
Jun. 2003 &
Sep. 2004
Aug.1997;
Feb. 1998
Jul.2006, Jan.,
Apr. & Oct. 2007
Abu. a)
527－1,300
831±247
1,404±670
1,193 ± 689
1,785±496
-
~500－1,000
Species
num.
(- )
223
(145 genera)
232
(149 genera)
294
(110 genera)
263
(119 genera)
85-100
(75-91 genera )
(102 genera)
Dominant
species b)
The subaquatic
delta:
Dorylaimopsis sp.,
Retrotheristus sp.,
Parodontophora
sp.
Dichromadora sp.
Subtidal coldwater
community in
muddy habitat:
Prochromadorella
attennuata,
Dorylaimopsis
rabalaisi,
Metalinhomoeus
longicauda,
Sphaenolaimus
minitus,
Paramonohystera
sp. & Campylaimus
gerlachi
Shandong Coast:
Microlaimus sp.,
Parasphaerolaimus sp.,
Leptolaimus sp.,
Halalaimus gracilis
& Dorylaimopsis.
rabalaisi;
The southern YS:
Genus
Dorylaimopsis,
Sphaerolaimus,
Sabatieria,
Parodontophora
& Daptonema
Estuarine
brackish:
Genus
Halalaimus,
Daptonema &
Metalinhomoeus
Jiangsu coast：
Daptonema sp.,
Ptycholaimellus sp.,
Prochromadorella sp.,
& Chromadorita sp.
The northern YS:
Genus Sabatieria,
Parodontophora,
Chromadora ,
Neochromadora,
Sphaerolaimus &
Dorylaimopsis;
The northern
YSCWM:
Parodontophora
Central &
northern:
Sabatieria, sp.,
Dorylaimopsis
variabilis,
Vasostoma sp.,
Spilophorella sp.,
Daptonema sp.,
Linhystera sp.,
Halalainmus sp.,
&
Filoncholaimus
sp.
The Southern:
Dorylaimopsis
Sabatieria sp.,
Vasostoma sp.
Genus
Dorylaimopsis,
Sabatieria,
Sphaerolaimus,
Parodontophora,
Elzalia,
Terschellingia,
Metadesmolaimus,
Setosabatieria &
Paracomesoma
the Laizhou Bay:
Parodontophora
sp.,
Dorylaimopsis sp.,
Paralinhomoeus
sp.,
Spilophorella sp. &
Sphaerolaimus sp.
The central part of
Bohai:
Yellow Sea Cold Water
Mass (YSCWM):
Paramonohystera sp.,
Prochromadorella sp.,
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Oxygen
minimum zone:
Genus
Daptonema,
Cobbia &
hypoxia tolerant
Sabatieria.
Continental shelf
shallow water on
the Southern of
the Hangzhou
Spilophorella sp.,
Dichromadora sp.
& Sabatieria sp.
Promonhystera sp., D.
rabalaisi &
Ptycholaimellus sp.
Transitory community:
Microlaimus sp., D.
rabalaisi., Cobbia sp.,
Aegialoalaimus sp. &
Leptolaimus sp.
marina,
Sabatieria sp.,
Comesa sp.,
Parodontophora sp.
&
Chromadora sp.
Bay:
Genus Cobbia,
Terschellingia. &
Leptolaimus
& Xyala sp.
-
2A (34 %),
1A (30 %)
1B (28 %)
2B (8 %)
2A (31 %)
1B (31 %),
1A (29 %)
2B (10 %)
2B (36 %)
1B (30 %),
1A (19 %)
2A (14 %)
2A (35 %)
1B (33 %)
1A (27 %)
2B (5 %)
2A (31-38 %)
1A (29-38 %),
1B (25-26 %)
2B (8-14 %)
2A (35 %)
1B (30 %),
2B (13 %)
1A (10 %)
Main
regulators
Sedimentation rate,
food availability &
larval complement
Organic matter,
clay content &
Chlorophyll-a
Water depth,
organic matter &
sediment water content
Phaeopigment &
organic matter
Chlorophyll-a,
phaeopigment &
sediment grain
Sediment
composition &
sea current
Water depth &
human disturbance
Reference
[2, 3]
[6]
[7]
[8, 9]
[10, 11]
[12]
Trophic
groups c)
[4, 5]
a) The unit of abundance is ×103 inds m-2; - no data are given; b) arranged in decreased order of their contribution to total abundance; c) Wieser’s classification [13],
namely 1A = selective-deposit feeders), 1B = non-selective deposit feeders, 2A = epigrowth feeders, 2B = predators/omnivores.
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Table S3 Community structure of marine nematodes in coastal wetland in China
Sampling
area &
vegetation
Sandy-beach
Cordgrass
Mangrove wetland
Organically-polluted
flat (Qingdao Bay）
SA, SM & PA
(Yangtze River estuary）
KC
(Shenzhen Bay)
Jun. & Oct. 1990
Mar. & Aug. 2004
Jan., Apr., Jul. &
Oct. 1997
Abundance
(×103 inds
m-2)
~3,400
(~15－16,000)
SA: ~100－600
SM: ~100－700
PA: ~100－1,000 a)
~ 300－800
Species
num.
20
(18 genera)
- (52 genus, ~15－20
genera each plant )
28
Dominant
species
Metoncholaimus
moles,
Paracanthonchus
monodons,
Innocuonema sp.,
Paramonohystera
pellnerda,
Sabatieria pulchra,
Desmolaimus
zeylandicus &
Theristus
metaflevensis
SA:
Genus Terschellingia,
Ethmolaimus,
Parodontophora,
Desmoscolex, Daptonema,
Leptolaimus, & Halalaimus
SM:
Polysigma, Theristus,
Daptonema,
Parodontophora,
Hypodontolaimus,
Terchellingia &
Anoplostoma
PA:
Genus Haliplectus,
Dilochodorus,Hypodontola
imus & Parodontophora
Sampling
date
Bared flat
(Tong’an Bay)
Bared flat
(Jiulong estuary)
Feb. & May
1999
Dec. 1997, Mar.,
May, Jun., Jul. 1998
KC: ~120
AM: ~200－1,500
~ 200－400
~1,610－2,670
48
(41 genera)
- (-)
(22 genera)
37, 21－23 each type
(20－22 genera each type)
Terschellingia
sp.,
Daptonema sp.,
Metalinhomoeus
sp.,
Parodontophora
sp., Sabatieria
sp.,
Eumorpholaimus
sp., &
Microlaimus
sp.
KC:
Sabatieria sp.,
Terchellingia sp., Viscosia
sp., Terschellingia sp.,
Elzalia sp. &
Parodontophora sp.
AM:
Chromadorina sp.,
Eumorpholaimus sp.,
Ethmolatmus sp.,
Terchellingia sp. &
Spilophorella sp.
Dorylaimopsis
variable,
Viscosia sp.,
Daptonema sp.,
Sphaerolaimus
balticus, &
Thalassomonhy
stera sp.
Daptonema sp.,
Eumorpholaimus sp.,
Terschellingia
longicaudata,
Paramonohystera sp.,
Sphaerolaimus sp.,
Leptolaimus sp.,
Dorylaimus sp.,
Microlaimus sp. &
Monhysterides sp.
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AM & KC
(Tong’an Bay)
Muddy flat
Dec. 2004
Dominant
Feeder b)
2B & 2A
Bacteria & algal feeder c)
-
KC: 1B, 1A, 2 A
AM: 2A &1B
Main
regulators
-
Plant type
-
Organic matter
Reference
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
-
1B &1A
Food resource
Organic matter &
sediment composition
[18]
[19]
a) Unit: inds 10 g dry sediment; b) Wieser’s classification [13] (1A = selective-deposit feeders, 1B = non-selective deposit feeders, 2A = epigrowth feeders, 2B =
predators/omnivores); c) according to [20]: 6 trophic groups (algal feeder, plant feeder, bacterial feeder, fungi feeder, carnivore feeder & Omnivore feeder). SN=
Scripus mariqueter; PA= Phragmites australis; SA= Spartina alterniflora, AM= Avicennia marina ; Kandelia candel= KC
-1
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Table S4
Research priorities for the marine nematodes in the near future
Research themes
Scientific questions and objectives
Global distribution patterns
Fundamental descriptive work
Finding out the key regulators and their patterns of spatial and temporal change
Vulnerability and adaptation of nematodes to disturbance
Identifying individual species and the species composition of samples quickly
Whether specific species exist in particular habitat types (e.g. seagrass, salt-marsh or tidal
flat)
Being cosmopolitan (as protists) or a restricted geographical distribution (as large animals)
Nematodes predation on microbenthos
Contribution of nematodes to microbial food web
Macrofaunal predation on nematodes
Bottom up control of nematodes as a food resource for macrofauna
Succession patterns in different salt-marshes or
regional geological and geographic conditions
Elucidating the processes and mechanisms involved in different ecosystems
Offering a theoretical basis for further management
Roles in pelagic-benthic coupling
Contribution to geochemical cycles: a carbon “sink” or “source”
Environment
monitoring
Laboratory and mesocosm experiments for
typical nematodes or communities
Long-term monitoring in typical regions
Integrated analysis using computer-based data
Responses to pollutants, global change (e.g., acidity of seawater, greenhouse effects, rising
sea level)
Accumulating a database for model construction or other basic research
Establishing evaluation criteria widely-accepted not only recognized by specialists
Applied contexts
Nutritional analysis
Nutritional value of individuals that utilize different foods or at different life stages
Finding out the potential feasibility of mass culture as a food source for aquaculture
Test their possible application in medical research or other industries (e.g., neurotoxins,
cellulases and polyunsaturated fatty acids, amino acid synthesis)
Biodiversity
assessments
Ecosystem
dynamics in
salt-marshes
Diversity descriptions in diverse habitats
Diversity drivers
Tolerance to disturbances
DNA barcoding
Characteristics of specific habitats
Characteristics of substances produced by
certain nematodes
Methology
Improved approaches for nematodes’ extraction
and enumeration
Mathematical models
Quick and accurate estimation of the abundance and biomass for a large number of samples
Predicting succession patterns of particular ecosystems in response to disturbance
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Computerization
of databases
Including
DNA
sequences,
taxonomy,
phylogeny,
morphology
(including
photographs), ecology, socio-economic value
and literature
Offering a comprehensive platform for research, socio-economic issues, general awareness
and accessibility of the public
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