Macroinvertebrate associations on the egg masses of the sea hare,Aplysia brasiliana rang (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia)

We examined the assemblage of macroinvertebrates that inhabits the egg masses of the sea hareAplysia brasiliana Rang. A total of 3,721 individuals belonging to 31 invertebrate species was recovered from 107 egg masses collected in the Indian River Lagoon in east-central Florida. The egg mass associates appeared to be a subset of the surrounding faunal assemblage. Amphipods, polychaetes, and molluscs comprised the majority of the egg mass fauna. Of these, approximately 10 species were abundant, and were collected with high frequency in the egg masses examined. Association analysis of the distribution patterns of the more common species indicates that only positive first order effects and second order interactions were potentially important in this assemblage.