Recovery of Meiofauna in Intertidal Feeding Pits Created by Rays

Abstract Benthic meiofauna are important food resources for marine fishes and crustaceans, some of which have important commercial value. Ray feeding activities produce pits that disturb intertidal and subtidal sediments. Our previous research showed that feeding pit formation reduced meiofaunal abundance inside intertidal pits. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the recovery time of meiofauna as the summer season progressed. In July, meiofauna recovered by 4 tidal cycles (within 48 h) after pit formation. In August, meiofaunal numbers took 6–14 tidal cycles (72–168 h) to recover. The longer recovery time later in the summer may be due to the continuous disturbance of the sediments by ray feeding activity, as 16–19% of the intertidal surface area was disturbed by this activity.

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