Extensive spatial impacts of oyster reefs on an intertidal mudflat community via predator facilitation.

Habitat engineers make strong and far-reaching imprints on ecosystem processes. In intertidal mudflats, the dominant primary producer, microphytobenthos (MPB), often forms high biomass patches around oyster reefs. We evaluate multiple hypotheses linking MPB with oyster reefs, including oyster biodeposition, meiofaunal grazing, and abiotic factors, aiming to help predict effects of reef removal or proliferation.

Long-term spatio-temporal changes of the muddy fine sand benthic community of the Bay of Seine (eastern English Channel).

In the English Channel, the eastern Bay of Seine is exposed to numerous anthropogenic disturbances, in particular major changes in sediment dynamics, which are expected to greatly impact benthic communities. To assess the long-term effects of these stressors on the muddy fine sand benthic community, an original long-term monitoring program has been implemented since 1988. It is based on the sampling of a network of 60 stations during seven surveys over 28 years from 1988 to 2016.