Abstract
The effects of three infaunal bivalves on an epibenthic microalgal community were studied in a tidal channel at Carpinteria Salt Marsh, California, USA. Sediment Chl a concentration was patchy, ranging from ≈ 1 to ≈ 5.5 μd·cm −2. Chl a concentrations in 78.5-cm 2 sample plots was negatively correlated with the density of the deposit-feeder Macoma nasuta, but not the suspension-feeders Protothaca staminea and Tagelus californianus within those plots. In field experiments, M. nasuta inhibited the development of microalgal standing stock relative to P. staminea and Control treatments. The effect of M. nasuta on microalgae varied with clam density. M. nasuta also reduced existing microalgal standing stock but without affecting the relative abundance of common diatom species. Our results indicate that the random distribution of the deposit-feeding M. nasuta contributed to small-scale patchiness in microalgal standing stock, locally reducing the availability of microalgae to infaunal as well as epifaunal benthic consumers.
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