Monthly Variation in Crustacean Assemblage(Decapod and Stomatopod) and Its Relationships with Environmental Variables in Laizhou Bay,China

In this study,we investigated the community structure of crustaceans(decapod and stomatopod) inhabiting the sandy mud bottoms of Laizhou Bay(northeastern China) monthly from May 2011 to April 2012.Investigation was stopped from December 2011 to February 2012 because of the extreme weather and sea ice.A total of 205,057 specimens belonging to 31 species(shrimp,15;crab,15;and stomatopod,1) were collected in 148 hauls.From 2011 to 2012,Oratosquilla oratoria was the dominant biomass species(47.80%),followed by Charybdis japonica(15.49%),Alpheus japonicas(12.61%),Portunus trituberculatus(6.46%),and Crangon spp.(4.19%).Crangon spp.was the most dominant species by individual(32.55%).O.oratoria was the most-frequently encountered species(81.76%),followed by Palaemon gravieri(70.95%),C.japonica(65.54%),A.japonicas(62.16%),and P.trituberculatus(54.73%).The biomass density increased from August to September 2011 and decreased from March 2012 to April 2012.The dynamics of the ecological indices evolve in a similar manner,with high values of diversity and evenness and rich species from May to June 2011 and low values from September to October 2011.O.oratoria,C.japonica,and P.trituberculatus differed by biomass data between groups I(samples obtained from September to October 2011) and II(samples in other months).These species contributed more than 70% to the similarity of the crustacean community structure.Furthermore,the subsets of environmental variables that best matched the crustacean-assemblage structure were as follows:water depth(WD) in summer(June to August);sea surface temperature(SST),dissolved oxygen(DO),and WD in autumn(September to November);and DO,salinity,and WD in spring(March to May).The calculated correlation coefficients and significance level were higher in the period of July to August 2011 than in other months.Comparing 2011 to 2012 with 1982 to 1983,the species composition remained stable.However,the dominant species changed significantly.High value and large species,such as F.chinensis,P.trituberculatus,and T.curvirostris,have been replaced by low value and small species(i.e.,Crangon spp.,P.gravieri,and C.japonica).