IntroductionHistorical/Geological SettingEcosystemsHistorical Ecology of BivalvesPhysical Environmental InteractionsTemperatureSalinityTemperature-Salinity and Other Factor CombinationsAcidificationWater FlowTidesSedimentsOrganismic Scale ProcessesFeedingSuspension-FeedingLarviphagyDeposit FeedingShipwormsSymbiotic NutritionChemoautotrophic SymbiosesPopulation ProcessesLife CycleStatistical Measures of PopulationsDensityReproductionPopulation GrowthBivalves As Open Or MetapopulationsLife and Fecundity TablesMortalityAbiotic MortalityPredationCompetition-Induced MortalityAggregated DistributionsZonationDiseases and ParasitesPopulation Energy BudgetsEcosystem GrazingIntroductionGrazing Theory as Applied to BivalvesConceptualizing GrazingMethods Used to Estimate System GrazingUpstream-Downstream ObservationsLaboratory FlumesEcosystem ComparisonsEcosystem Metabolism and Nutrient CyclingNutrient CyclingTheoretical BackgroundConclusionsThe Case of the Missing NitrogenEcosystem ExperimentsModelsModel FormulationModel AnalysisEcosystem Field ExperimentsCase StudyEcosystem Health, Restoration, and ServicesBivalve ResponsesSystems MeasuresEcosystem ServicesBiodiversityA Case Study: The Wadden Sea and the Invasion of Crassostrea gigasIndex