Micro-habitats and Associations

Reteterebella queenslandia associates with live coral boulders and macroalgae found in the shallow sandy inshore area of coral reef cays and lagoon. R. queenslandia also tends to occur in clumped populations. These clumping of individuals then tend to disperse throughout the sandy inshore zone, creating large gaps between micro-populations.
	R. queenslandia in its protective tube immediately after the boulder it was hiding under was turned over
Given the large populations size of R. queenslandia, we predict that they will be significant to bioturbation and nutrient cycling in the sandy inshore reef. Although they are unable to turn over significant quantities of sand like Holothurians, their biomass alone would result in them having a significant impact on their environment.
	Buccal tentacles of several individuals extending from a single coral boulder