Marine gastropods exert a strong influence on the structure of marine ecosystems through their foraging activities, yet little is known about how environmental differences in space and time may affect their feeding behavior. To enhance the knowledge about the trophic ecology of coastal benthic species, we investigated temporal and spatial variations in the diet of the sandy beach gastropod Olivella minuta. We collected individuals of O. minuta seasonally, over 1 year, at two sandy beaches with different morphodynamic characteristics (Araca Bay, an ultra‐dissipative tidal flat, and Barequecaba Beach, a dissipative beach) and analyzed the stomach contents of specimens of O. minuta. We identified approximately 15,000 food items, which we grouped into 14 categories. Thirteen food categories were found at each area, but significant differences in diet were observed between sites and sampling periods. Individuals from Araca consumed an overall larger quantity and diversity of food items, which consisted mainly of foraminiferans, polychaetes, and crustaceans. At Barequecaba, diatoms were the most important item, followed by crustaceans and polychaetes. Temporal variation depended on sites: the number of food items in the stomachs of individuals of O. minuta and dietary composition was roughly constant over time at Araca, whereas larger variations were observed at Barequecaba. Although O. minuta has been previously characterized as a carnivore/scavenger, our results show that the diet of this species varies in space and time and comprises a large variety of food resources. The species thus plays a role in the cycling of both vegetal and animal organic matter. This generalist behavior may allow individuals to shift their diet according to habitat alterations and food availability, thereby enhancing the persistence and resilience of O. minuta in different environments or future climate change scenarios.

中文翻译：

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沙滩腹足动物 Olivella minuta 饮食的时空变化

海洋腹足类动物通过觅食活动对海洋生态系统的结构产生强烈影响，但关于空间和时间的环境差异如何影响它们的摄食行为却知之甚少。为了增强对沿海底栖物种营养生态学的了解，我们调查了沙滩腹足动物 Olivella minuta 饮食的时空变化。我们在 1 年多的时间里在两个具有不同形态动力学特征的沙滩（Araca 湾，一个超耗散的潮滩和 Barequecaba 海滩，一个耗散的海滩）收集了 O. minuta 的个体，并分析了 O. minuta 标本的胃内容物。分钟。我们确定了大约 15,000 种食品，我们将其分为 14 类。每个区域都发现了 13 种食物类别，但在不同地点和采样期之间观察到饮食的显着差异。来自阿拉卡的个体消费了更多数量和多样性的食物，主要包括有孔虫、多毛类和甲壳类动物。在巴雷克卡巴，硅藻是最重要的项目，其次是甲壳类和多毛类。时间变化取决于地点：在 Araca，O. minuta 个体胃中的食物数量和饮食成分随着时间的推移大致保持不变，而在 Barequecaba 观察到更大的变化。尽管 O. minuta 以前被描述为食肉动物/清道夫，但我们的研究结果表明，该物种的饮食在空间和时间上各不相同，并且包含种类繁多的食物资源。因此，该物种在植物和动物有机物质的循环中发挥作用。