Influence of environmental gradients on the distribution of benthic resources available for shorebirds on intertidal mudflats of Yves Bay, France

International audience The case study of Yves Bay (Pertuis Charentais, France) highlighted links between environmental gradients (i.e. sediment characteristics and emersion time) and prey distribution and availability for the two most numerous shorebird species overwintering in Yves Bay: the red kno...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Main Authors: Philippe, Anne S., Pinaud, David, Cayatte, Marie-Laure, Goulevant, Cyril, Lachaussée, Nicolas, Pineau, Philippe, Karpytchev, Mikhail, Bocher, Pierrick
Other Authors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Réeserve Naturelle Nationale du Marais d’Yves, LPO
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2016
Subjects:
Yves Bay
Marine molluscs
Trophic zonality
Tidal cycle
Marine annelids
Bay of Biscay
France
Grain size
Pertuis Charentais
46°02′N–01°03′W
[SDE]Environmental Sciences
Calidris alpina
Calidris canutus
Red Knot
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-01304235
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.03.013
Description
Summary:International audience The case study of Yves Bay (Pertuis Charentais, France) highlighted links between environmental gradients (i.e. sediment characteristics and emersion time) and prey distribution and availability for the two most numerous shorebird species overwintering in Yves Bay: the red knot Calidris canutus and the dunlin Calidris alpina. Two hundred and fifty-two stations were sampled on a predetermined 250 m regular grid covering the intertidal mudflats of this major wintering site in France for east-Atlantic migratory shorebirds. The distribution of principal benthic species abundance and biomass was modelled along two environmental gradients: sediment structure (particularly pronounced north–south sand-mud gradient) and emersion time. The effect of emersion time combined with sedimentary structure strongly explained abundances and biomasses of the main prey for C. canutus and C. alpina in the bay (Cerastoderma edule, Hydrobia ulvae, Macoma balthica, Scrobicularia plana, and Nephtys hombergii). This study highlighted prey species-specific spatial segregation/overlapping as well as spatial interferences in the trophic niche of the two shorebirds.

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