A. A. Udalov, A. I. Azovskii, I. V. Burkovskii, and E. S. Chertoprud
Biological Faculty, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Received May 16, 2001
Abstract—The responses of meiobenthos and ciliates to the experimental increase of the density of the total
meiobenthos or the large-size nematode Enoplus demani were studied in the muddy-sand intertidal zone of the
White Sea estuary. None of the main quantitative and structural characteristics of the meiobenthos (abundance,
species composition, trophic structure, and vertical distribution) has changed during the experiment. The total
density of ciliates (microbenthos) also remained constant; however, the structure of the taxocene has changed.
The percentage of the algivorous species (Tracheloraphis incaudatus, Remanella margaritifera, and Histioba-
lanthium majus) decreased, while the percentage of the bacterivorous forms (Uronema marina, Mesodinium
pulex, Cyclidium spp., and Lagynophrya spp.) increased. Most likely, these changes were determined by the
alterations in the proportions of the ciliate food resources. It is considered that the density of the meiobenthos
is more likely controlled by abiotic factors than by the trophic resource.
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