How foundation species shape tidal flats

In this thesis, I described how foundation species contribute to the of shape tidal flats based on a variety of species, regions and species interactions. Based on these results, I can conclude that both biological and physical processes play an important role in shaping tidal flats. For instance, the foundation species affect their environment strongly by sediment bioturbation or accretion. On the other hand, physical forces play an important role in the species distribution or the effect of foundation species on the environment i.e., when physical forces are too strong, foundation species will not survive or change their surroundings. To conclude, it is valuable to focus on an integral approach implementing both physical and biological processes when studying tidal flats. With this thesis, I took some important steps toward understanding tidal flat formation by studying small-scale species interactions and translate them to landscape-scale functioning.