Impacts of macrozoobenthic invasions on a temperate coastal food web

Invasions of marine species are changing coastal food webs worldwide, impacting on trophic interactions between native species (e.g. predator−prey relationships). Here, the impact of 3 macrozoobenthic invasive species on food web structure and functioning at Balgzand (western Wadden Sea) is quantified by using ecological network analysis (ENA). The bivalves Ensis leei and Magallana gigas were observed for the first time in 1984 and 2001, respectively, and the poly- chaete Marenzelleria viridis appeared in 1989. Although E. leei and M. viridis reached similar peak biomasses in the 2000s (ca. 1700 and 2000 mg C m−2, respectively), the bivalve consumption was higher (>45% of total consumption) than that of the polychaete (