Tidal flat nematode responses to hypoxia and subsequent macrofauna-mediated alterations of sediment properties.

The article presents a study which analyzes the role of macrofauna-mediated sediment changes on the recovery of nematode community. The researchers examine the temporal development of macrobenthos, sediment properties, and nematode communities following hypoxia in 16 m² replicated plots over a 6-month period. The experiment was conducted at a tidal flat known as Paulina-polder located along the southern shore of the Westerschelde estuary's polyhaline part in Netherlands. It notes that hypoxia has drastically changed the composition of the nematode community, but complete mortality did not occur as compared with the case for macrobenthos. The results show that reassembling of the nematode community was associated to the combined macrobenthos-environmental temporal development.