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Burrowing shrimp have important impact on Pacific Northwest estuaries
Research by a WED scientist in collaboration with Oregon State University colleagues
has confirmed the importance of burrowing shrimp to the environment of Pacific Northwest
estuaries where intertidal mudflats harbor dense populations of the shrimp. The shrimp
construct burrows, which they use for refuge, feeding and mating, that extend as much
as a meter below the sediment surface, and they constantly rework the sediments in between.
Scientists at WED’s Pacific Coastal Ecology Branch are investigating the roles these
animals play in nutrient cycling, food web dynamics and water quality as part of EPA’s
program to understand aquatic stressors.
This particular project revealed that dense populations of these shrimp feeding in
bays and estuaries can potentially lead to significant reductions in the concentration
of phytoplankton, the plant material that lives suspended in the water. Phytoplankton
is a primary producer in aquatic ecosystems, the source of energy for organisms up the
food chain. Change in the population of burrowing shrimp has ecosystem-wide consequences
on nutrient dynamics, food-web structure, oyster farming, and water quality in Northwest
estuaries. Specifically, the research shows that an abundance of the shrimp can 1) regulate
the rate of primary production; 2) consume excess phytoplankton resulting from pollution
by nutrients; 3) enhance water clarity by reducing the concentration of suspended
particulate matter; and 4) compete for food with other suspension feeders, including
oysters. (Contact T.H. DeWitt,541-867-4042; dewitt.ted@epa.gov)