Note
This research was designed (1) to examine the role of predatory decapod crustaceans as an organizingforce in prey distribution and abundance patterns, and (2) to compare the importance of vegetation as a prey refuge from predators with its importance as a microhabitat for epifauna in seagrass meadows. After documenting the predator-exclusion effectiveness of a new cage design by defaunating and monitoring faunal immigration into cages during a 2-mo period of high predator densities, I initiated a l -mo manipulative field experiment designed to examine the refuge value of vegetation.