Trophic relationships in tidal flat areas: To what extent are tidal flats dependent on imported food?

Abstract

In four intertidal areas of ‘Königshafen’ (island of Sylt, FRG), biomass and production of macrozoobenthos were measured monthly in 1980 and 1984. The areas were characterized by different macrofauna assemblages ( Nereis-Corophium belt, seagrass bed, Arenicola flat and mussel bed). Biomass and production of macrofauna were partitioned with regard to food preference of single species as well as to the food availability within their habitat. In the Nereis-Corophium belt, seagrass bed and the Arenicola flat, most of the secondary production of the macrofauna was formed by grazing animals. Secondary production of mussel beds was nearly 10 times higher than in the other three assemblages. The suspension feeder assemblage depended on planktonic food imported from outside the bay. Considering the secondary production of the total tidal flat area, suspension feeders dominated the other trophic groups, indicating a key position of this group relative to the other macrofaunal assemblages. Mussel beds regulate the seston input to other communities situated further landward. Because of this dominance of the suspension feeder group, the energy and material flow of the total tidal flat is strongly dependent on the seston input from the coastal waters of the North Sea or from other parts of the Wadden Sea.