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MORE THAN JUST BAIT: BURROWING SHRIMP AS ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS IN OREGON ESTUARIES - SEPTEMBER 2006
Citation:
DEWITT, T. H. MORE THAN JUST BAIT: BURROWING SHRIMP AS ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS IN OREGON ESTUARIES - SEPTEMBER 2006. Presented at National Estuary Day Lecture, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR, September 30, 2006.
Description:
Burrowing shrimp may be most widely known as excellent fishing bait, but they also play important roles in estuaries of the Pacific Northwest. These shrimps strongly affect carbon and nutrient cycling, phytoplankton abundance, food web structure and dynamics, sediment stability, and the composition of benthic invertebrate communities. These effects result from the large size of the shrimps, their great abundance and broad distribution within and among estuaries, their feeding activities, and their burrow construction and irrigation. Consequently, these shrimps can be viewed as ecosystem engineers of Pacific Northwest estuaries. This talk will summarize EPA research on the ecology of these shrimps and how nutrient enrichment might affect them and Pacific NW estuaries.