MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 269:223-236 (2004) - doi:10.3354/meps269223 Particle removal rates by the mud shrimp Upogebia pugettensis, its burrow, and a commensal clam: effects on estuarine phytoplankton abundance Blaine D. Griffen1,*, Theodore H. DeWitt2, Chris Langdon3 1Zoology Department, University of New Hampshire, 46 College Road, Durham, New Hampshire 03878, USA 2National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory ‹ Western Ecology Division, US Environmental Protection Agency, Newport, Oregon 97365, USA 3Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station and Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon 97365, USA *Email: bgriffen@cisunix.unh.edu ABSTRACT: The burrowing shrimp Upogebia pugettensis is an abundant intertidal invertebrate of Pacific Northwest, USA bays and estuaries where it lives commensally with the bivalve Cryptomya californica. Suspension-feeding activities by the shrimp and by its commensal clam, as well as particle settlement within the burrow, represent 3 different components that could remove phytoplankton from water drawn into shrimp burrows. These 3 components together comprise what we call the ŒU. pugettensis shrimp-burrow complex¹. In laboratory experiments, we measured particle removal by each of these components. Our results indicated that U. pugettensis itself is responsible for filtering the majority of phytoplankton removed by the U. pugettensis shrimp-burrow complex at phytoplankton concentrations of 0.12 mg C l-1, with filtration by C. californica becoming increasingly important at phytoplankton concentrations of 0.48 mg C l-1. Particle settlement in the burrow and adhesion to the burrow wall may also be responsible for removal of substantial proportions of phytoplankton. Using results from both laboratory and field experiments, we developed a population filtration model to examine the potential impacts of U. pugettensis shrimp-burrow complexes on phytoplankton in the Yaquina estuary, Newport, Oregon, USA. We showed that U. pugettensis shrimp-burrow complexes in this estuary may be capable of daily filtering the entire body of overlying water. We also examined the potential for food competition between U. pugettensis and other suspension feeders that are found in shrimp habitats, represented in this study by the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Comparison of retention efficiencies of shrimp and oysters indicated that they are both capable of utilizing phytoplankton-sized particles with similar efficiencies and, therefore, may compete for food when phytoplankton abundance is growth-limiting. KEY WORDS: Suspension feeding · Burrowing shrimp · Upogebia pugettensis · Cryptomya californica · Yaquina Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 269. Online publication date: March 25, 2004 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2004 Inter-Research.