Short‐term effects of deposit feeding on benthic micro‐organisms are known from several marine environments, but longer‐term influences of deposit feeders have not been extensively investigated. The long‐term microbial response to deposit feeding by the gastropodAmphibola crenatawas monitored in a 10‐month field study where deposit feeding intensity was controlled in artificial enclosures. The presence of the snail resulted in a minor decrease in bacterial numbers and a slight increase in heterotrophic activity relative to bacterial cell numbers. This effect may have been the long‐term signature of a previously reported pulse in bacterial production during the recolonisation ofAmphibolafaeces. Normal snail density had a strong inhibitory effect on primary productivity by the benthic microalgae, reducing CO2fixation to 29–47% of levels that could be attained when snails were excluded. Variations in the effect of deposit feeding on micro‐organisms over the experimental period suggest that it may be modified by seasonal factors acting on benthic communities. In a similar interaction of influences, seasonal changes in microbial biomass and activity appeared to vary with snail density.