Abstract
Samples of Macoma balthica were collected during 1978 and 1979 from the westernmost part of the Dutch Wadden Sea. The length of the crystalline style in the stomach of this intertidal bivalve was studied through tidal and annual cycles. The length of the style was ca. half the shell length and changed slightly with the season. Maximum lengths were recorded in spring, the season of high food intake, and minimal values in autumn and winter. Changes in the length of the style also exhibited a tidal cycle, but with two maxima and two minima. Tidal fluctuations in style length amounted to ca. 5% only. The influence of enzymes and waste products from the digestive diverticula, the food intake as well as the influence of the pH on the length of the style are discussed.
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