Lokale massasterfte bij kokkels

On a tidal flat in the sheltered Mokbay on the island of Texel many intact articulated cockle shells were found in October 2007. They had died here due to lack of oxygen under a cover of algae, which was present in the summer of 2007. They were still laying on the surface of the tidal flat, but will most probably be transported during storms later this year. If eventually preserved in the fossil record such concentrations of articulated ‘butterfly’ bivalves might indicate mass mortalities in the past.