Title
Repeatable sediment associations of burrowing bivalves across six European tidal flat systems
Author(s)
Compton T.J., Troost T.A., Drent J., Kraan C., Bocher P., Leyrer J., Dekinga A., Piersma T.
Published
2009
Publisher
Marine Ecology Progress Series
Abstract
Burrowing bivalves are associated with particular sediment types within sedimentary systems. The degree to which bivalve sediment associations are repeatable across systems has seldom been investigated. To investigate whether such repeatability exists across tidal flats, we compared adult and juvenile distributions of 3 bivalve species (Cerastoderma edule, Scrobicularia plana, Macoma balthica) across 6 European tidal flats. Across systems, the adult bivalves showed fairly repeatable distributions, with C. edule occurring in sandy sediments and M. balthica and S. plana occurring in muddy sediments. Exceptions were observed in systems composed primarily of muddy sediments (Aiguillon Bay and Marennes-Oléron Bay) and the Dutch Wadden Sea. Interestingly, juveniles and adults of C. edule and S. plana showed similar distributions across systems. M. balthica juveniles and adults showed habitat separation in 3 of the 6 studied systems; in 2 of these, it has been shown previously that juvenile M. balthica settle in mud at high tidal levels and migrate to lower sandier flats later in life. The high occurrence of juvenile M. balthica towards high sandy flats in Mont Saint-Michel Bay suggests that juveniles might choose high tidal flats rather than muddy sediments per se. A repeatable association in adults and juveniles with respect to sediment could suggest that juveniles actively settle in the proximity of the adults and/or that juveniles settling away from the adults incur a higher mortality due to either predation, physiological stress, or other factors. © Inter-Research 2009.
Keywords
adult; bivalve; burrowing organism; ecological modeling; juvenile; marine sediment; mortality; population distribution; predation; preference behavior; regression analysis; settling behavior; species occurrence; tidal flat; Aiguillon Bay; Atlantic Ocean; England; Eurasia; Europe; France; Marennes-Oleron Bay; North Sea; Poitou-Charentes; The Wash; United Kingdom; Wadden Sea; Western Europe; Bivalvia; Cerastoderma edule; Macoma balthica; Scrobicularia plana
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PUB11896