For decades, we monitored numbers and weights of the macrozoobenthos in a vast tidal‐flat area in the Dutch Wadden Sea. We used data collected since 1992 to estimate annual secondary production. Data on chlorophyll concentrations and primary production were available for a nearby tidal inlet, showing rapid increases in the late 1970s and gradual declines since the late 1980s. The benthos responded with a doubling of biomass ar...

Population dynamics of common intertidal bivalves ( Cerastoderma edule , Macoma balthica , Mya arenaria , Mytilus edulis ) are strongly related to seawater temperatures. In northwestern European estuaries, series of mild winters followed by low bivalve recruit densities lead to small adult stocks. In this study, we examine temperature‐induced effects on reproductive output (eggs m −2 ), onset of spawning (day of the year), and...