Intertidal Catastrophes: Effect of Storms and Hurricanes on Intertidal Benthos of the Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy

Hurricane Beulah (July 1975) and a major storm both caused catastrophic mortalities among intertidal benthos of the Minas Basin. In both events, surface sediment was scoured off the flats, resulting in high mortalities in shallow-burrowing organisms. The storm was a more severe catastrophe than the hurricane. The demonstrated high secondary productivity of these flats is difficult to reconcile with these observations; extensive lateral migration of the benthos may aid in recovery from catastrophes. Key words: benthos, intertidal productivity, Bay of Fundy, tidal power, catastrophes, Macoma balthica, Corophium volutator