Abstract
Abstract The distribution of bacteria and chlorophyll a in sediment around and within Arenicola marina while feeding on sandy sediment at the shallow Bregnor Bay, Denmark, was examined throughout an annual cycle. Specimens inhabiting homogenized sediment were compared with worms from unmanipulated sediment. Although the feeding pocket was difficult to locate, a low mean grain size of sediment in the gut of A. Marina compared with surrounding unmanipulated sediment indicates selective feeding on particles <500 μm. It appears that A. marina only occupies one feeding pocket for short time in the densely populated (∼80 ind. m2) sandy sediment at Bregnor Bay. Digestion and assimilation of bacteria and chlorophyll a (i.e. microalgae) during passage of sediment through the gut of A. Marina occur primarily in the stomach. Due to a rapid 50–100% regrowth in the hindgut of A. marina, assimilation of bacteria must be quantified as the difference in numbers between esophagus and stomach. Assimilation efficiency was s...
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