melvynyeo on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/melvynyeo/art/Terrestrial-amphipods-703482631melvynyeo

Deviation Actions

melvynyeo's avatar

Terrestrial amphipods

By
Published:
2.1K Views

Description

Also commonly called Landhoppers. Taken at night in Singapore forest.

Quote from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphipod…
Amphipods are found in almost all aquatic environments, from fresh water to water with twice the salinity of sea water.[4] They are almost always an important component of aquatic ecosystems,[19] often acting as mesograzers.[20] Most species in the suborder Gammaridea are epibenthic, although they are often collected in plankton samples. Members of the Hyperiidea are all planktonic and marine.[6] Many are symbionts of gelatinous animals, including salps, medusae, siphonophores, colonial radiolarians and ctenophores, and most hyperiids are associated with gelatinous animals during some part of their life cycle.[21] Some 1,900 species, or 20% of the total amphipod diversity, live in fresh water or other non-marine waters. Notably rich endemic amphipod faunas are found in the ancient Lake Baikal and waters of the Caspian Sea basin.[22]

The landhoppers of the family Talitridae (which also includes semi-terrestrial and marine animals) are terrestrial, living in damp environments such as leaf litter.[23] Landhoppers have a wide distribution in areas that were formerly part of Gondwanaland, but have colonised parts of Europe and North America in recent times.

Around 750 species in 160 genera and 30 families are troglobitic, and are found in almost all suitable habitats, but with their centres of diversity in the Mediterranean Basin, southeastern North America and the Caribbean.[24]

In populations found in Benthic ecosystems, amphipods play an essential role in controlling brown algae growth.[20] The mesograzer behaviour of amphipods greatly contributes to the suppression of brown algal dominance in the absence of amphipod predators.[20] Amphipods display a strong preference for brown algae in Benthic ecosystems, but due to removal of mesograzers by predators such as fish, brown algae is able to dominate these communities over green and red algae species.[20]
Image size
1600x1066px 791.2 KB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed
1/160 second
Aperture
F/16.0
Focal Length
100 mm
ISO Speed
100
Date Taken
Sep 1, 2017, 10:02:35 PM
Sensor Size
10mm
© 2017 - 2024 melvynyeo
Comments8
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In