Taxonomic diversity of fish assemblages in the Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent waters

Taxonomic diversity of fish assemblages in the Changjiang Estuary(Yangtze River Estuary) and its adjacent waters was analyzed based on bottom trawl surveys carried out by R/V Beidou in June,August and October 2006.Four groups of fishes were identified for each survey by the twoway indicator species analysis(TWIA).Taxonomic distinctness,species richness and phylogenetic diversity were used to detect changes in taxonomic structure of fish assemblages.Most dominant fish species mainly belonged to Perciformes,Pleuronectiformes,Clupeiformes,Scorpaeniformes and Tetraodontiformes.Species richness in offshore waters of the survey area was higher than that in the other area.The average taxonomic distinctness value(AvTD,△+ ) of each fish assemblage was close to the average taxonomic distinctness of master list in the Changjiang Estuary(79.9),and had a positive correlation with species richness and Shannon diversity index(H ).A negative correlation was found between variations in taxonomic distinctness(VarTD,Λ + ) and traditional diversity indices,which were caused by fish species component that led to longer average path lengths among species.Taxonomic diversity index(△) had the similar results with species richness,H ,Simpson diversity index(D) and Pielou's evenness index(J ).VarTD also kept stable,which further certificated that fish assemblages and ecological environment were in equilibrium.Taxonomic distinctness index(△* ) was relatively stable in most of fish assemblages,and had higher values in some fish assemblages for a few absolutely dominant species.The present study showed that fish community formed new equilibrium stability in 2006 in the Changjiang Estuary when compared with those in the corresponding months of annual survey from 1985 to 1986.And AvTD in each sampling station was lower than AvTD of master list in the Changjiang Estuary,so some ecological niches were absent in each sampling stations from taxonomic or phylogenetic relationships,these would be helpful to stock natural resource and maintain ecological equilibruim of fish assemblages.     

基于AMBI和M-AMBI指数的黄河口及邻近海域底栖生境质量评价

The protection of the biological diversity and the maintenance of the regional ecological integrity for the Huanghe （Yellow River） Estuary and its adjacent areas are practically significant and valuable. However, frequent human activities and natural climate changes have caused vigorous disturbances on the ecosystem in these sea areas. An objective assessment on the benthic habitat quality （BHQ） of the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas is conducted, using AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index （AMBI） and multivariate AMBI （M-AMBI） based on the data of macrobenthos in May and August 2011. The results show that both the indices do not correlate significantly, and their assessment results are greatly different. All of the samples assessed using the AMBI were ＂high＂ or ＂good＂, because the ecological group I （EGI） and the ecological group II （EGII） were dominant macrobenthic ecological groups in the research area. Owing to a low species＇ richness and a high individual abundance in some samples, the BHQ levels using the M-AMBI were worse than those of the AMBI. Significant correlations are observed between the M-AMBI, water depth, bottom water salinity and dissolved inorganic nitrogen, thus the M-AMBI could sensitively respond to environmental changes and distinguish influences from uninfluenced stations, but the AMBI could not. The consistent results between the AMBI and the M-AMBI mainly appeared in the uninfluenced （undisturbed or slightly disturbed） sta- tions. Therefore, the M-AMBI is more effective than the AMBI in assessing the benthic habitat quality in the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas. Using the M-AMBI to assess the BHQ of the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas, the results show that 3% of the stations are undisturbed and the BHQs are ＂high＂, and 61% of the stations are slightly disturbed and those of the BHQ are ＂good＂, and the rest are meanly disturbed and those of the BHQ are ＂moderate＂.     

H'、AMBI和M-AMBI指数在黄河口及邻近海域底栖生境健康评价中的适宜性研究

From a dataset of macrobenthos obtained from 18 cruises from 2004 to 2013 in the Huanghe(Yellow River)Estuary and its adjacent areas,the composition and characteristics of macrobenthos were analyzed,and the applicability of the Shannon-Wiener Index(H′),AZTI's Marine Biotic Index(AMBI) and multivariate AMBI(MAMBI) for assessing benthic habitat quality was compared.The results showed a total of 203 macrobenthos in the study area.The macrobenthos were dominated by polychaetes,followed by mollusks and crustaceans.The macrobenthic ecological groups were dominated by EGI,EGII and EGIII,which respectively accounted for 31.5%,36.0% and 21.2% of the total.There were significant differences between the evaluation results of the three indices.The ecological quality status(EQS) levels given by the AMBI were greater than those given by the H′ and M-AMBI.The AMBI could not reflect the differences between 11 sites but the H′ and M-AMBI could do.Moreover,the three indices responded well to the variations in salinity(S) and dissolved oxygen(DO) in the waters.The H′ and MAMBI also responded sensitively to the differences in physical parameters,such as water depth and sediment texture.The correlation between M-AMBI and environmental pressure gradient data was the strongest.The MAMBI could effectively distinguish degraded conditions from undegraded but the H′ and AMBI could not.Therefore,the M-AMBI reflected benthic habitat health well in the study areas.However,the objectivity of evaluation results of M-AMBI needs further verification by physical,chemical and biological methods.The thresholds also need further discussion.     

Community structure of macrobenthos in coastal water off Rushan, southern Shandong Peninsula, and the relationships with environmental factors

To understand the present actuality of the marine ecosystem in the southern coastal water region of the Shandong Peninsula and the impact of the global change and the human activities to the marine ecosystem of the region,the macrobenthic community structure was researched based on data from 26 sampling stations carried out on four seasonal cruises from December 2006 to November 2007.The data was analyzed using PRIMER 6.0 and SPSS 15.0 software packages.The results showed that 236 macrobenthic species in total were collected from the research region by the field works.Most of the species belong to Polychaeta (76 species),Mollusca (75) and Crustacea (60).Of which,33 species were common species by the four cruises.The dominant species were different among the four seasons,however,the polychaete species Nephtys oligobranchia and Sternaspis scutata were always dominant in the four seasons.The abundances and biomasses of the macrobenthos from the research region were variable in the four seasons.The results of CLUSTER and MDS analysis showed that the similarities of macrobenthic structures among the stations were low,most of the similarities were at about 40% of similarity values,only that of two stations were up to 60%.In accordance with the similarity values of the macrobenthic structures,the 26 stations were clustered as six groups at arbitrary similarity level of 30%.The ABC curve indicated that the marcofauna communities in the research region had not been disturbed distinctly.The results of BIOENV and BVSTEP (Spearman) analysis implied that the concentrations of organic matter in bottom water and heavy metal copper in sediment,water depth and temperature of bottom were the most significant environmental factors to affect the macrobentic community.     

Species Diversity and Abundance Distribution of Pelagic Siphonophores in Nan Wan Bay of Taiwan, China, in Late Autumn and Early Winter

Zooplankton surveys were carried out on November 2-3 and December 8-10, 2001 at 12 stations in the Nan Wan Bay of Taiwan, China. Altogether 92 quantitative zooplankton samples were collected from subsurface water and bottom water layers with two conical plankton nets （180 cm in length, 45 cm in opening diameter, 333μm and 200 larn in mesh size）. A total of 31 species of Siphonophores were identified, among them 7 species are new records in the waters around Taiwan Island, of which Rocacea cymbiformis is a new record in China. Dominated by Chelophyes appendiculata, Bassia bassensis, Diphyes bojani, Diphyes dispar, Abylopsis eschscholtzi and Chelophyes contorta, these species accounted for over 76 % and 63 % of the total abundance in November and December. The species number and Siphonophores abundance in December （25 species, 1.99 inds/m3） were more than those in November （19 species, 0.438 inds/m3）, and they were more in the surface water layer than in the bottom layer at most sampling stations. In early winter, the offshore high salinity water mass was a main factor influencing the distribution. The sampling efficiency for two plankton nets is discussed and the seasonal variation of species number and abundance in the Nan Wan Bay is compared with that in the neighboring waters.     

Macrobenthic community structure in the Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent waters in summer

On the basis of data collected in the summer of 2006 from 27 sampling stations in the Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent waters, the ecological characteristics of macrobenthos and the relationship between the macrobenthos and the environmental factors were studied using hierarchical cluster and non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS).The biomass, abundance, Shannon-Wiener's and Margalef's indices of the macrobenthos were presented. The results showed that a total of 253 macrobenthic species were found in the research region, and most of them belong to mollusks and polychaetes. The dominant species were Cossurella dimorpha, Eocylichna cylindrella, Episiphon kiaochowwanense, Nassarius semiplicatus, Ocstergrenia variabilis and Sternaspis scutata. The average abundance of the macrobenthos was (313.15±233.4) ind./m2, and the average biomass was (15.2±11.2)g/m2.The distribution patterns of the abundance and biomass of the macrobenthos were similar. The abundance and biomass in the area close to the estuary were lower than those from the area more distant to the estuary; the central part of the research region had higher abundance and biomass than other parts of the research region. In accordance with the results, four macrobenthic communities with distinct spatial differences were identified. The low abundance and biomass in the area close to the estuary should be caused by the high sedimentation rate. The statistical analysis indicated that the depth is the most important factor affecting the distribution of macrobenthos.     

Comparison of copper speciation in the Zhujiang River Estuary between summer and winter:implication for upwelling current

The contents of total copper, total dissolved copper, particulate copper, and free ion copper in the Zhujiang River Estuary were investigated in July 2002 and January 2003 respectively, and the spatial distribution trend of these species of copper were compared in two cruises. It was found that, in summer, the total copper content in the Zhujiang River Estuary increased with salinity, while the content office ion copper decreased with salinity. However, in winter, the contents of total copper and free ion copper both decreased with salinity. So, it could be concluded that, copper content and speciation in the Zhujiang River Estuary were regulated by other factors than runoffdiffusion such as upwelling current. In order to prove the spatial trend of rice ion copper content in the Zhujiang River Estuary, the cultivation of Dunaliella tertiolecta in waters obtained from sampling stations with different salinities was carried out, and the copper uptake by algae cells was measured then. It was found that, the cells＇ uptake of copper increased with rice ion copper, not the content of total copper.     

基于多种生物指数的中国渤海莱州湾海域底栖生境健康评价

As an important part of the Bohai economic rim, the Laizhou Bay has been stressed by serious eco-environmental problems in recent years. In this study, the Shannon-Wiener index(H′), AZTI's marine biotic index(AMBI) and the multivariate AMBI(M-AMBI) were used to assess the ecological quality status(EQS) of the Laizhou Bay according to macrobenthos data collected annually in August 2011–2014. The results showed that the overall benthic habitat quality in the Laizhou Bay was assessed as "Good". However, 25% of the samples were classified as"Moderate", "Bad" or "Poor" status under degraded conditions. Ecological group Ⅲ(EGⅢ) species which had a certain tolerance to environmental disturbances had a higher proportion in each station, and most of them had appeared the pollution indicator species Capitella capitata. This indicated that the benthic habitat in the Laizhou Bay had been disturbed and polluted to some extent. The comparison of the three indices evaluation result and the RDA analysis showed that the H′ and M-AMBI were more suitable when the relative abundance of the single species was high and the macrobenthic community was significantly imbalanced; when the relative abundance of opportunistic species(EGIV and EGV) was high, the AMBI and M-AMBI could reflected the EQS objectively; in an undisturbed and polluted environment, all the three indices could indicate the benthic habitats quality. In summary, the better correlation between the three indices and environmental factors showed that they were well responsive to the tendency of the benthic habitats quality in the Laizhou Bay.     

The relationship between soft-bottom macrobenthic communities and environmental variables off Ningjin, eastern Shandong Peninsula

Macrobenthic infauna and associated environmental factors influencing the benthic community in the eastern coastal region of Shandong Peninsula were analyzed in four seasonal surveys from January 2007 to October 2007 (30 stations in winter, 20 stations in other three seasons), in order to understand the community structure and the factors unfluencing the benthic distribution. PRIMER 6.0 and SPSS 15.0 software packages were adopted to analyze the environmental and macrobenthic data. The results show that there were 260 macrobenthic species in total collected from the research region. The composition of species is:Polychaeta (94 species), Crustacea (75), Mollusca (56) and Echinoderm (12), among which, only 23 species were common species in the cruises of every season. The dominant species varied from season to season; however, the polychaete species Paralacydonia paradoxa Fauvel and Echinoderm species Amphioplus japonicus (Matsumoto) were always present year-round. The abundance and biomass of the macrobenthos in the research region were variable from season to season. The results of CLUSTER and MDS analysis show that the similarities of macrobenthic structures between the stations were low; most of the similarities were at about 30% of similarity value, only two stations were up to 70%. In accordance with the similarity values of the macrobenthic structures, we divided the 20 stations into five groups by arbitrary similarity level of 30%. The ABC curve indicates that the marcofauna communities in the research region had not been disturbed massively, except two stations, SB1 and SB3. Ecologically, benthos were controlled by a combination of factors such as salinity, phytoplankton, zooplankton, SiO₃-Si and temperature, and no single factor could be considered as an ecological master factor.     

东南极普里兹湾陆架区大型底栖动物群落结构

To explore the spatial pattern of macrobenthic communities and their response to environmental factors in the Prydz Bay,samples were collected using a 0.25-m2 box corer at 10 stations from November 2012 to April 2013.A total of 50 species of macrobenthos belonging to 8 phyla and 33 families were identified,of which polychaetes(e.g.,Maldane sarsi)and sponges(e.g.,Halichondria sp.and Leucosolenia sp.)were the most prominent groups.The macrobenthos in study area were categorized into five functional groups based on the feeding type,and the detritivorous group represented by polychaetes showed the highest average abundance,while the planktophagous group represented by sponges showed the highest average biomass.Macrobenthos abundance(0–592 ind./m2)and biomass(0–1155.5 g/m2)in the Prydz Bay were relatively lower than those of other Antarctic shelf soft-bottom waters,although the compositions of the dominant species and functional feeding groups were similar.The results of the Spearman rank correlation analysis indicated that the average biomass of the macrobenthos and the biomass of the planktophagous group in the study area were negatively correlated with the water depth,sediment grain size and silt percentage.However,these variables were clearly not strong determinants of macrobenthos assemblage structure.Many factors not measured in the study,e.g.,sediment organic matter and iceberg interference,have probably influenced the spatial distribution of macrobenthic community structure in the Prydz Bay.     

基于3种生物指数的三沙湾养殖活动底栖环境效应研究

为考察我国东海区最为典型养殖海湾三沙湾养殖活动的底栖环境效应，本研究根据2016年8月航次41个样品采集站位的数据，分析香农-威纳多样性指数（Shannon-Wiener index，H'）、海洋生物指数AMBI（AZTI's Marine Biotic Index）和多变量海洋生物指数M-AMBI（Multivariate-AMBI）在4种典型水域（网箱、海藻、鲍鱼养殖和无养殖水域）间的差异及其与沉积物环境因子（δ15N、δ13C、C/N比、总有机碳、总氮、总磷、硫化物、含水率和粉粒-黏粒比例）的相关性。结果表明，航次共采集74种大型底栖生物，H'介于0~3.51；物种多属环境敏感类型（AMBI方法中EGⅠ和EGⅡ生态组），AMBI指数介于0~4.13，M-AMBI指数介于0.30~0.77。3种生物指数的分布水平表明此海域总体底栖生态质量良好，仅在局部水域存在显著扰动。Kruskal-Wallis检验显示仅H'在不同类型水域之间存在显著差异（P<0.05），后续配对检验（Pairwise comparision）显示大黄鱼养殖水域H'显著高于海藻养殖水域（P<0.01）。基于斯皮尔曼秩相关系数（Spearman correlation coefficient）的相关性分析表明仅H'和M-AMBI指数分别与总磷存在显著相关性（P<0.05）。聚类分析（Cluster analysis）结果显示不同类型站位在聚类图中随机分布，聚类结果未体现出采样水域的差异性。综上，基于3种生物指数的分析结果显示三沙湾内网箱等典型养殖活动未对区域底栖生境质量造成显著影响。     

Influence of Environmental Variables on the Distribution of Macrobenthos in the Han River Estuary, Korea

We compared environmental effects on the macrobenthic community of the Han River Estuary in summer, when freshwater input from the Han River increased, and in spring, when freshwater input decreased. Field samples were taken from the upper region of the Shingok reservoir to the southern area of Ganghwado at 18 sampling sites after rainy (August 2006) and dry (March 2007) seasons. Macrobenthic fauna were collected using a Van Veen Grab (0.025 m² and 0.1 m²) and environmental factors were measured simultaneously. Dominant species of macrobenthic fauna and the macrobenthic community were divided into two areas, the area of the Han River with no salinity (< 0.1 psu) and the southern part of Ganghwado with salinity (> 20 psu). The dominant species Byblis japonicus appeared at Junruri in the dry season. The distributions of two polychaetes, Hediste japonica and Nephtys caeca, were divided into the lower and upper areas of the Singok submerged weir. BIO-ENV (the matching of biotic to environmental patterns) analysis revealed that salinity was the most important factor affecting macrobenthic communities in the Han River Estuary, with other factors such as sediment grain size, bottom dissolved oxygen, and total organic carbon of sediment being secondary.     

基于AMBI和M-AMBI法的底栖生态环境质量评价——以厦门五缘湾海域为例

于2011-2013年5月和10月在厦门五缘湾海域设置7个站位进行大型底栖动物调查,并结合2005年的历史数据,运用AMBI和M-AMBI指数法评价该海域海底生态环境质量的时空变化状况。2011-2013年共鉴定大型底栖动物9门106科193种,多毛类(83种)、甲壳类(53种)和软体动物(25种)是该海域的主要优势类群,平均总密度和湿质量生物量分别为(518±292)ind/m2和(54.8±88.9)g/m2。多毛类的短鳃树蛰虫(Pista brevibranchia)为该海域的绝对优势种,其平均密度可达(170±179)ind/m2,其他优势种还有似蛰虫(Amaeana trilobata)、西方似蛰虫(Amaeana occidentalis)、丝鳃稚齿虫(Prionospio malmgreni)、梳鳃虫(Terebellides stroemii)、独毛虫属一种(Tharyxsp.)、菲律宾蛤仔(Ruditapes philippinarum)、长指马尔他钩虾(Melita longidactyla)和伍氏蝼蛄虾(Austinogebia wuhsienweni)等。评价结果显示,该海域底栖生态系统受轻度干扰,生态环境质量介于一般—优良之间,与2005年的调查相比,2011-2013年该海域的生态环境质量有所好转,这可能与五缘湾及周边海域近年来进行的海堤开口改造、海洋环境整治,以及海湾纳潮量及水交换能力的改善有关。     

Spatial distribution and biodiversity of macrofauna in the southeast of the Caspian Sea, Gorgan Bay in relation to environmental conditions

Spatial distribution and biodiversity of macrofauna in the Gorgan Bay, southeast of the Caspian Sea, were studied at fifteen stations in June 2010. Also, depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total organic matter content and sediment particle size were measured in each station. A total 3,356 individuals belonged to eight families and ten species were identified. Polychaeta were numerically dominated groups and Streblospio gynobranchiata, was constant and dominant species with 60.28% of total individuals but Bivalvia with four species had highest species number, though the density of them were low. The maximum density (4,500 ind/m²) was obtained at station 1 while the minimum (411 ind/m²) was observed at station 6. There was not significant correlation between the density of macrofauna with all environmental conditions. In total, six feeding group were considered but surface deposit feeder and deposit feeder were dominant in all stations. The maximum mean species number, diversity, richness, and evenness were obtained, 6.33, 1.46, 1.38 and 0.87, respectively. Based on the M-AMBI and the AMBI classification it seems that bentic environment in Gorgan Bay was not bad but the results of Shannon-Wiener, Margalef and Simpson indices the results were vice versa. In general, the values of the mentioned indices decreased from the western to the eastern part of the bay. Furthermore, the nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) showed that the structure of the macrofaunal assemblages was divides to six groups.     

胶州湾大型底栖动物的丰度、生物量和生产量研究

为了研究胶州湾大型底栖动物的丰度、生物量和生产量,于2002年3月、6月、8月和12月,在胶州湾北部软底区、大沽河口、黄岛养殖区及养殖区邻域选取4个站位进行采样,对大型底栖动物进行了定量研究。共采到大型底栖动物138种,总平均丰度、平均生物量(湿质量)和年生产量(有机碳)分别为1 719个/m2,27 g/m2,2.2 g/(m2.a),初步估算,胶州湾大型底栖动物的总次级生产量为2.8万t/a。与渤海和南黄海大型底栖动物的丰度和生物量比较,丰度和生物量均低于这两个海域,但是胶州湾大型底栖动物的总次级生产量高于渤海。本研究对于了解胶州湾大型底栖动物现状及湾内养殖对大型底栖动物的影响具有重要的意义。     

Paradigmatic responses of marine benthic communities to different anthropogenic pressures, using M-AMBI, within the European Water Framework Directive

The use of AMBI and M-AMBI in benthic quality assessments, within the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), has increased dramatically in recent years. M-AMBI is a multivariate tool, which incorporates AMBI, richness and Shannon diversity within the assessment. The response of this approach to different human pressures in coastal and estuarine waters has been investigated for the Basque Country (Northern Spain). In this contribution, several paradigmatic examples of these applications to different water bodies are presented. The time-series extend to samples collected between 1995 and 2007, showing the evolution of M-AMBI values under different pressures, i.e. urban and industrial discharges, dredging and disposal of sediments, and engineering works (such as land reclamation or marina construction), and, in addition, for illustrating the benthic quality recovery after positive actions have been undertaken, i.e. the removal of point-source discharges or water treatment programmes. In most cases, M-AMBI responds to these pressures as expected, with decreases in the ecological status immediately following the pressure. Conversely, when a pressure is removed, the recovery takes between 2 and 15 years, depending upon the intensity of the pressure and the characteristics of the water body. M-AMBI has been intercalibrated previously in coastal waters. After intercalibration in transitional waters, M-AMBI will be able to be used in the integrative quality assessment of European water bodies.