Secondary production of an intertidal mussel bed community related to its storage and turnover compartments

Abstract

Macrofaunal b~o n~a s s and production were studied at 6 sites on an intertidal mussel bed in the northern Wadden Sea near the island of Sylt (North Sea) in 1984 Mean biornass of the community w a s about 25 times h~g h e r (1243 g AFDW m-') than in other commumties of the Wadden Sea Of t h s biomass, 97 % was represented by the mussel M y t~l u s e d u l~s L Although associated fauna had a share of only 3 %, their absolute biomass of 35 g AFDW m-' is in the range reported for other intertidal communities of the Wadden Sea Annual producbon of the rnacrofaunal community (468 g AFDW m-2 yr-') was dominated by n~ussels (436 g AFDW m-2 yr-') P/B-rabo was very low for the total community (0 36) Annual production of associated macrofauna was much lower (31 g AFDW m-'yr-') but the P/Bratio (0 89) indicates a higher turnover rate Suspension feeders had the greatest share in secondary production followed by grazers Predators and detr~tus feeders were of lesser importance Biomass and production of individuals of higher mass dominated overwhelmingly over smaller size groups The main productive potential of the communlty is formed by the larger size classes These are of only minimal importance for predation Therefore the communlty can be divided into 2 functional compartn~ents (1) a storage compartment with a high productive potenbal leading to further increase in biomass or being spent for metabolic and reproductive requirements and (2) a turnover compartment with relatively low biomass and production but higher turnover The production of the turnover compartment is available to most predators

Mussel beds — amensalism or amelioration for intertidal fauna?

“…8.80 % of the area of the sheltered tidal bay of K6nigshafen were covered by beds of MyO'lus edulis L. (Asmus, 1987) (Fig. 1).…”

“…In the Wadden Sea, the biomass values of intertidal mussel beds are among the highest for benthic communities (Asmus, 1987;Beukema, 1976), and they are an important component of the production of the Wadden Sea. However, the r01e of mussel beds as a habitat for intertidal organisms has never been completely investigated.…”

Historical changes in the benthos of the Wadden Sea around the island of Sylt in the North Sea

“…Mussel beds Similar to seagrass meadows, beds of Mytilus edufis are ecologically ehte structures in the Wadden Sea in terms of biomass production, nutrient cychng, and habitat provision to a rich assemblage of associated organisms (Asmus, 1987;Dame & Dankers, 1988). Changes in the distribution and coverage of mussel beds could have large effects on the entire ecosystem.…”

High Antarctic macrobenthic community production

“…2 1/T; r 5 0.554; P , 0.001; n 5 37. Data are taken from Asmus (1987), Baird and Milne (1981), Brey and Gerdes (in press), Buchanan andWarwick (1974), Cederwall (1977), Elliott and Taylor (1989), George and Warwick (1985), , , Howe and Leathem (1984), Jacksoń et al (1985), Piepenburg et al (1995), Sarda et al (1995), Sprung (1993), Steimle (1985), Steimle (1987), Theroux and Grosstein (1987), Warwick and George (1980), Warwick and Price (1975), Warwick et al (1978), Warwick et al (1979), Wolff and de Wolf (1977). use with population data but were applied to larger taxonomic units here (Table 1).…”