Sediment transport, biotic modifications and selection of grain size in a surface deposit-feeder

Abstract

Deposit-feeders often select for particles on the basis of grain size. The available pool of particles at the sediment surface may be modified both by deposit-feeder activity and by sediment transport, but the effects of these alterations on deposit-feeder diet composition have received little attention. In laboratory experiments the spionid polychaeteParaprionospio pinnata altered the grain-size composition in its foraging area, and these alterations were reflected in grain-size changes in the diet. After simulated transport of fine-grain sediments,P. pinnata diets also changed in grain-size composition. Field data were collected from 9 m depth in the lower Chesapeake Bay. A video camera, deployed near the bottom, identified times of sediment transport over a 6-h Period;P. pinnata were collected concurrently for gut analysis. Consistent with predictions from the laboratory experiments,P. pinnata ingested primarily small-grain sizes. During periods of no sediment transport this feeding pattern reduced the relative availability of small particles; larger sediments were incorporated into the diet. Sediment transport may resupply the foraging area with fine-grain particles which are then incorporated into the diet. On these small spatial and time scales, deposit-feeder activity may affect the availability of food resources.