Mussels (Mytilus californianus, M. galloprovincialis) and other organisms sloughed from offshore oil platforms provide a food subsidy to benthic consumers and alter underlying soft bottom habitat by creating hard substrate.
Using quadrat sampling of video transects obtained by the submersible Delta,
we characterized the larger invertebrates living on the shell mounds surrounding
Significant Conclusions: “Our results suggest that the structure of shell mound communities is strongly influenced by the presence of the platform structure and the food subsidies provided by the clumps of mussels and associated organisms that continua
