Assessing the role of benthic filter feeders on phytoplankton production in a shellfish farming site: Mont Saint Michel Bay, France

The macrobenthic community of Mont Saint Michel Bay (English Channel, France) is mainly dominated by filter feeders, including cultivated species (oysters and mussels). An ecological model of the bay was developed, coupling a 2D hydro-sedimentary model and two biological models for primary production and filter-feeder filtration. The filter-feeder model includes three cultivated species (Mytilus edulis, Crassostrea gigas and Ostrea edulis), one invasive species (Crepidula fornicata) and eight wild native species (Abra alba, Cerastoderma edule, Glycymeris glycymeris, La nice conchilega, Macoma balthica, Paphia rhomboides, Sabellaria alveolata, and Spisula ovalis). For cultivated and invasive species, the production of biodeposits was computed to assess their role in restimulating primary production. Chlorophyll a concentrations appeared to be strongly controlled by the filter feeders. When the pressure of each benthic compartment on phytoplankton was estimated separately wild species and the invasive slipper limpet C. fornicata were shown to be key elements in the control of primary production. Conversely, the role of cultivated species, particularly oysters, was weaker. Feedback due to the mineralization of biodeposits also appears to be crucial to fully evaluate the role of filter feeders in primary production. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.