Tiering
– establishment of a community structure in which different organisms are
distributed vertically in space. (Ausich and Bottjer, 1982)
Primary Tierers – suspension feeders that have a body or borrow that intersects the seafloor. (Bottjer and Ausich, 1986)
Secondary Tierers – suspension feeders that maintain a position above or below the sediment-water interface and that utilize a support structure or a borrow of a primary tierer or a plant living in that environment. (Bottjer and Ausich, 1986)
Epifauna – benthic organisms that live on or above the sediment-water interface
Infauna – benthic organisms that live below the sediment-water interface
Primary Tierers – suspension feeders that have a body or borrow that intersects the seafloor. (Bottjer and Ausich, 1986)
Secondary Tierers – suspension feeders that maintain a position above or below the sediment-water interface and that utilize a support structure or a borrow of a primary tierer or a plant living in that environment. (Bottjer and Ausich, 1986)
Epifauna – benthic organisms that live on or above the sediment-water interface
Infauna – benthic organisms that live below the sediment-water interface