Cyclical Events in the Life and Death of an Ephemeral Polychaete Reef on a Tropical Mudflat

The polychaete (sabellariid-spionid) reefs at Jeram shore (Malaysia) grow up on soft-bottom mudflats and appear short-lived. It is postulated that such reef building results from the succession of polychaete species in response to the changing environment modulated by the extreme hydrometeorological events. To elucidate the biological succession of the reef cycle in relation to the environment, two reef patches on the intertidal mudflat were studied, both spatially (horizontal and vertical community structure) and temporally (June 2012 to January 2014). The Jeram polychaete reef cycles through four phases within a year: pre-settlement phase (March–May), growth phase comprising primary (May–November) and secondary (October–January) successional stages, stagnation phase (December–January), and destruction phase (January–March). The reef dynamics appear to be linked to the regional monsoon climate and local hydrological conditions. At the onset of the southwest monsoon (May), strong erosive forces initiate the reef’s primary succession of the growth phase where the dominant polychaete Sabellaria jeramae colonize and rapidly grow on the exposed lag deposits of shells. During the northeast monsoon (November–March), stronger depositional forces cover the developed reef with fine sediments that are colonized by another polychaete, the spionid Polydora cavitensis during the reef’s secondary succession of the growth phase. On the muddy substrate surrounding the reef clumps, mudflat polychaetes were the most abundant macrobenthos followed by anomurans, gastropods, carideans, and brachyurans. However, these mudflat macrobenthos play no obvious or direct role in initiating the growth of the reef which is likely the result of settlement of dispersed polychaete larvae from unknown offshore reefs. On the other hand, the reef presence has a positive effect on the presence or abundance of surrounding mudflat macrobenthos such as mudflat polychaetes, shrimps, crabs, and gastropods.