![]() Received: NovemAccepted: SeptemPublished: October 5, 2018Ĭopyright: © 2018 Glaspie, Seitz. PLoS ONE 13(10):Įditor: Judi Hewitt, University of Waikato, NEW ZEALAND A better understanding of density-dependent predator-prey interactions is necessary to prevent loss of food-web integrity and to conserve marine resources.Ĭitation: Glaspie CN, Seitz RD (2018) Habitat complexity and benthic predator-prey interactions in Chesapeake Bay. Mya may retain a low-density refuge from predation even with the loss of structurally complex habitats, though a loss of habitat refuge may result in clam densities that are not sustainable. Mercenaria had higher survival than Mya in mesocosm experiments, likely because predators feeding on Mercenaria spent less time foraging than those feeding on Mya. Predator search times and encounter rates declined when prey were at low densities, likely due to the added cost of inefficient foraging however, this effect was more pronounced for Mya than for Mercenaria. However, crabs often missed one or more prey items in seagrass, shell, and oyster shell habitats. In mesocosm experiments, Mya had lower survival in sand and seagrass than in shell hash or oyster shell habitats. In the field, clams exposed to predators experienced 76.3% greater mortality as compared to caged individuals, and blue crabs were likely responsible for most of the mortality of juvenile Mya. We examined the potential for habitat and predators to control densities and distributions of bivalves in a field caging experiment ( Mya only) and laboratory mesocosm experiments (both species). ![]() In contrast, the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria (thick-shelled, shallow-burrowing) has a stable population and age distribution. In Chesapeake Bay, the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria (thin-shelled, deep-burrowing) exhibits population declines when predators are active, and it persists at low densities.
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