Amphipod predation by the infaunal polychaete,Nephtys incisa

Survival of the tubicolous amphipodAmpelisca abdita in a sediment toxicity test was negatively correlated with the presence of indigenousNephtys incisa. The gut contents ofN. incisa held in uncontaminated sediment included identifiable portions of the amphipods.A. abdita andMicrodeutopus gryllotalpa. Although most nephtyid polychaete worms are active predators,Nephtys incisa has been considered a nonselective deposit-feeder. We coclude thatN. incisa will prey upon amphipods under laboratory conditions. This predation may be a factor in the exclusion of surface-dwelling amphipods from theNephtys-Nucula community common in southern New England.