Feeding grounds for waders in the Bay of the Mont Saint-Michel (France): the Lanice conchilega reef serves as an oasis in the tidal flats

Bart de Smet (1) , Laurent Godet (2) , Jérôme Fournier (3) , Nicolas Desroy (4) , Mikaël Jaffré (5) , Magda Vincx (1) , Marijn Rabaut (1)

1 UGENT - Universiteit Gent = Ghent University
2 LETG - Nantes - Littoral, Environnement, Télédétection, Géomatique
3 BOREA - Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques
4 LERBN - Laboratoire Environnement Ressources de Bretagne Nord
5 LOG - Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187

The tube-building polychaete Lanice conchilega can form dense populations, often called reefs, which promote benthic community change and constitute feeding grounds for secondary consumers. The aim of this study was to quantify the role of the L. conchilega reef of the Bay of the Mont Saint-Michel (BMSM) for feeding waders, by combining macrobenthos data, bird counts and bird diet information. Wader densities in the reef were on average 46.6 times higher than in non-reef areas. According to faecal analyses, waders in the reef mainly selected the accompanying fauna and especially crustaceans. The attractiveness of the reef to feeding birds may be largely explained by the high abundance, richness and biomass of macrobenthic species in the reef compared with the rest of the BMSM.

Mots clés: Lanice conchilega; shorebirds; waders; birds; Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel; reef; intertidal

Domaines: Biodiversité et Ecologie; Océanographie; Zoologie des invertébrés

Bart de Smet, Laurent Godet, Jérôme Fournier, Nicolas Desroy, Mikaël Jaffré, et al.. Feeding grounds for waders in the Bay of the Mont Saint-Michel (France): the Lanice conchilega reef serves as an oasis in the tidal flats. Marine Biology, 2013, 160, pp.751-761. ⟨10.1007/s00227-012-2130-3⟩. ⟨hal-00804122⟩