A Brief Description of a Subtidal Sabellariid (Polychaeta) Reef on the Southern Oregon Coast

Abstract

The occurrence of a reef patch of tube-building polychaetes (Sabellariidae) is noted from the southern Oregon coast. The vast majority of the individuals in the reef are small Sabellaria cementarium. Larger S. cementarium, a second species of Idanthyrsus ornamentatus, and the ampharetid Schistocomus hi/toni are also common, occurring both as solitary individuals and as small monospecific clumps of individuals mixed in with the small Sabellaria. The reef extends between 6 m and 10 m below mean sea level (MSL) and is attached to the sandstone bedrock along the subtidal extension of a sea cliff. Measurements of worm abundances and distributions, and observations of larger associated organisms, were performed using SCUBA. Smaller associated fauna were studied from cores taken in the tube matrix. The authors suggest that the structured habitat provided by the worm-tube matrix permits a larger than usual species diversity to occur in the area.