Smothering of estuarine sandflats by terrigenous clay: the role of wind-wave disturbance and bioturbation in site-dependent macrofaunal recovery

摘要

Sediment run-off from land has been recognised as a threat to the biodiversity of shal- low estuarine and coastal areas. Extreme rainfall events can cause flooding and landslides, which may result in rapid deposition of fine terrigenous sediments and have serious impacts on benthic communities. We designed a field experiment to study the response of intertidal benthos to such depositions of terrigenous clay. The experiment was conducted at 2 contrasting intertidal sites: a sheltered muddy sand habitat and an exposed sand habitat influenced by wind waves.