Community level impacts of Maoricolpus roseus on the function of native soft sediment assemblages

The impact of the introduced New Zealand screw shell, Maoricolpus roseus, were assessed using a cageing experiment in SE Tasmania (Bligh Point, D'Entrecasteaux Channel). Three treatments consisted of different substratum type (live, dead and empty shells, and dead shells with 50% occupancy by hermit crabs); which were crossed with 2 levels of screwshell density (high and low). Treatment groups were artificially maintained for 20 months before metabolic chambers were used to quantify the community metabolism of different treatment groups.

本研究于塔斯马尼亚州东南部（德恩特卡斯托海峡布莱角）开展笼式实验，评估引入外来物种新西兰螺壳（Maoricolpus roseus）的生态影响。实验设置三类底质处理组：活体螺壳、死亡空螺壳，以及被寄居蟹占据50%比例的死亡螺壳；同时设置两个螺密度水平（高、低），两类实验因子采用交叉设计。所有处理组经20个月人工培育后，借助代谢舱量化各处理组的群落代谢水平。