Types of animals in seagrass
Infauna: bury in sediment.
- Polychaete worms, amphipods, clams, benefit from root and rhizome mat which protects from predators
- deeper-living animals survive better than shallow-living (Mercenaria > Chione)
Epifauna: Live on surface of blades and sediment
- Meiofauna (harpacticoid copepods), macrofauna (amphipods. isopods), tube-dwelling sessile polychaetes, gastropods, decapods
- Shoot and leaf complexity provides refuge
Mobile fauna: Live in water over canopy
- fishes swim above canopy, dive into it when predator