Effects of Clam Digging on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Structure in a Maine Mudflat

To assess the impact of clam digging on benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, field and laboratory experiments were performed for a mudflat in midcoast Maine. After a five-month period, a significant difference was observed in abundance of the amphipod Corophium volutator among undisturbed plots and plots subjected to different digging disturbance frequencies. In the laboratory, a significantly greater number of individuals of C. volutator established in undisturbed, stable sediment than in disturbed sediment over a five-day period.