Carbon Inputs to Bivalve Mollusks: A Comparison of Two Estuaries

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 1348-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis S. Incze ◽  
Lawrence M. Mayer ◽  
Evelyn B. Sherr ◽  
Stephen A. Macko
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Macoma Balthica ◽  
Benthic Microalgae ◽  
Mya Arenaria ◽  
Bivalve Mollusks ◽  
Terrestrial Organic Matter ◽  
Surface Deposit ◽  
River Input ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Deposit Feeding

Corresponding trends in δ13C values for particulate organic carbon (POC) and the tissues of several filter-feeding bivalve mollusks in the Sheepscot estuary, Maine, indicate assimilation of terrestrial organic matter by these estuarine organisms. An adjacent estuary, the Damariscotta, of similar morphology but receiving little river input shows no such isotope change in either POC or bivalves, but rather a domination by marine isotopic values. Geographically localized or species-specific departures from these trends appear to be related to two mechanisms: (1) the influence of locally abundant, isotopically distinct, aquatic macrophytes in an area of seasonally low flushing; (2) surface-deposit feeding on benthic microalgae with anomolously high δ13C values.Key words: δ13C, Mytilus edulis, Mya arenaria, Macoma balthica, POC, estuarine comparisons, bivalve feeding

Effects of the deposit-feeding benthic bivalve Macoma balthica on meiobenthos

Oecologia ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emil Olafsson ◽  
Ragnar Elmgren ◽  
Ourania Papakosta
Keyword(s):  
Macoma Balthica ◽  
Deposit Feeding

scholarly journals Observations on the Fauna and Constituents of an Estuarine Mud in a Polluted Area

1932 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Food Chain ◽  
Macoma Balthica ◽  
Mya Arenaria ◽  
Polluted Area ◽  
Ecological Survey ◽  
Molluscan Fauna ◽  
Sand And Gravel ◽  
Mersey Estuary

1. An ecological survey of the fauna of Dingle Beach, Mersey Estuary, has been made.2. A detailed analysis of the constituents of the mud, sand and gravel is given.3. A quantitative analysis of the Molluscan fauna from a series of stations has been made.4. Type of ground and fauna at different tidal levels are correlated.Mya arenaria is only found in abundance where there are stones. Macoma balthica is abundant wherever there is thick mud.5. Dingle Beach is a type of Macoma community but differing markedly from the typical community described by Petersen as “d”.6. The importance of sewage in producing silt and the part played by sewage in the food chain are discussed.

scholarly journals Is food supply for shellfish-eating birds in the western Wadden Sea affected by the between-species synchrony in year-to-year fluctuations of bivalve population parameters?

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Beukema ◽  
R. Dekker
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Macoma Balthica ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Mya Arenaria ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Annual Biomass

Abstract For a better understanding of functioning and stability of ecosystems, it is important to know to what extent constituent species show similarity in their long-term fluctuation patterns, i.e. whether their numbers and biomass frequently show simultaneous peaks and lows. Synchronic peaks and lows of important species would enhance variability in the functioning of the entire system and might affect its stability. When fluctuation patterns of individual species are largely independent, their peaks and lows would tend to extinguish each other’s effect on overall parameters (such as total zoobenthic biomass), thus promoting system stability. A long-term (46 years) monitoring study of the macrozoobenthos in a large (50 km2) tidal-flat area revealed that the 4 most important bivalve species (3 suspension feeders: Cerastoderma edule, Mytilus edulis, Mya arenaria and 1 deposit/suspension feeder: Limecola (Macoma) balthica) frequently showed peak numbers of their recruits in the same years. The annual growth rates of the three suspension feeding species showed some synchrony as well. Annual survival rates, on the other hand, did not show any synchronization, wiping out the initial synchrony of numbers within less than 2 years. As a result, annual biomass values did not show any positive between-species correlations. Annual amounts of bivalves that are accessible as bird food rarely declined to levels below 5 g AFDW m−2 and showed limited (5 to 10 fold difference between maximal and minimal values) variation. Oystercatchers left the area quicker in late winter and showed increased death rates at very low levels of food supply. Total bivalve bird food did not show any significant long-term trend. However, biomass of Mya arenaria showed an increasing trend and that of Limecola balthica a declining trend.

The Macrobenthic Infauna of the Offshore Northern North Sea

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Eleftheriou ◽  
D.J. Basford
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Fine Sand ◽  
Surface Deposit ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Deposit Feeders ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Northern North Sea ◽  
Deposit Feeding

Between 1980 and 1985 ninety-seven stations were sampled by Smith-Mclntyre grab from the offshore northern section of the North Sea. Four hundred and nine infaunal species were identified from the 76 selected macrofaunal stations. The number of species per station varied from 25 to 80 with a maximum abundance of 9,600 individuals m−2. The biomass ranged from 0.13 to 18.86 g dry weight m−2. At most stations, however, biomass varied between 1 and 4 g dry weight m−2. Diversity and abundance were highest in the 120–140 m zone, characterised by fine sand containing variable amounts of silt. The highest biomasses were recorded in two areas; firstly where stronger currents predominate and the sediments are coarser (east of Shetland and west of the Norwegian Trough), and secondly in the fine sandy deposits of the centrally located area. In the silty sediments (Fladen Ground and smaller depressions) there was a predominantly subsurface deposit-feeding community, whereas in the coarser area east of the Shetlands carnivores predominated. Over the remaining area surface deposit feeders were dominant.

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