Biomass Size Spectra of Near-Shore Shallow-Water Benthic Communities in the Gulf of Gdańsk Southern Baltic Sea

The concept of size spectra, developed by S heldon & P arsons 1967 and S heldon et al. 1972, seeks to describe community structure by evoking the distribution of biomass over a sequence of equal intervals of the logarithm of body size. In this study, biomass size spectra were prepared for benthic macro- and meiobenthos communities at 5 stations, differing in their sediment characteristics, located in the shallow, coastal area of the Gulf of Gdańsk Southern Baltic Sea. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the community spectra would allow distinct separation of ecological categories of the benthos and whether habitat differences between stations would significantly affect benthic size spectra.
Benthic biomass at the stations sampled depended mainly on nematodes and oligochaetes among the meiobenthos and on hydrobiid snails and M. edulis among the macrobenthos. Regardless of habitat, size spectra peaked initially at the meiofaunal range weight class 25 1. 19–501.19 ng C, identical to that reported in other studies. The separation between meio- and macrobenthic peaks, however, was not as pronounced as that found in other studies. Normalized size spectra demonstrated that most of the variations in the spectra between stations was introduced by macrobenthos, which differed between the coarse- and fine-grained sediments. Nonetheless, those differences were not strong enough to significantly affect the spectra. In consequence, the benthic biomass spectra of all the stations were found to conform to a common pattern and could be represented by a single, average spectrum.     

Impact of a flood event on benthic and pelagic coupling in a sub-tropical east Australian estuary (Brunswick)

We examined the impact of a 1:3 year return period flood on benthic and pelagic coupling in the river-dominated sub-tropical Brunswick Estuary. The flood had a significant impact on the study site flushing it with freshwater, reducing the flushing time 0.6 days, increasing nutrient concentrations in the water column and scouring the sediment surface. In the three weeks post-flood the benthic and pelagic systems alternated between being coupled and un-coupled via dissolved, particulate and living material pathways. Immediately post-flood benthic and pelagic coupling via the deposition of phyto-detritus and viable algal cells was reduced due to the scouring of the top sediment layers, and benthic respiration and productivity and NH₄⁺ effluxes all decreased correspondingly. In contrast, benthic and pelagic coupling was enhanced via the uptake and denitrification of NO₃⁻ due to elevated NO₃⁻ concentrations in the water column. Some of the NO₃⁻ consumed by the sediments may have also been converted to DON. Two weeks post-flood benthic and pelagic coupling was significantly enhanced via the deposition of phyto-detritus and viable algal cells associated with a phytoplankton bloom in the water column. This increased supply of phyto-detritus and viable algal cells rapidly increased benthic respiration and productivity and NH₄⁺ efflux. The depletion of water column DIN by the phytoplankton bloom resulted in a de-coupling of the benthic and pelagic systems via the uptake and denitrification of NO₃⁻. However, benthic and pelagic coupling was enhanced via the uptake of NH₄⁺ by benthic microalgae. Three weeks post-flood the phytoplankton bloom had collapsed and the coupling between the benthic and pelagic systems via the deposition of phyto-detritus and living algal cells had diminished. Again benthic and pelagic coupling was enhanced via the uptake and denitrification of NO₃⁻ due to elevated NO₃⁻ concentrations in the water column associated with the recycling of bloom material. Overall the sediments became less heterotrophic (increasing benthic productivity/respiration ratio) following the flood. Floods can cause rapid and complex changes in the coupling between benthic and pelagic systems in sub-tropical estuaries.     

Metazoan meiofauna biomass, grazing, and weight-dependent respiration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico deep sea

Metazoan meiofauna are ubiquitous in marine soft sediments and play a pivotal role in diagenesis of particulate organic matter. However, the relative importance of meiofauna to the function of deep-sea benthic boundary layer communities has not been resolved. Here, meiofauna biomass, respiration, and grazing on aerobic heterotrophic bacteria were estimated and compared to standing stocks and fluxes of other benthic components (e.g., bacteria and macrofauna). Biomass and respiration declined with depth. Highest biomass and respiration occurred in the proximity of the Mississippi River on the upper continental slope of the central Gulf of Mexico. Meiofauna required 7% of their biomass per day to meet their metabolic energy budget, compared to approximately 24% day⁻¹ in shallow water. Respiration accounted for 8–22% of whole sediment community respiration (SCOC), reflecting the importance of meiofauna in diagenesis, deep-sea carbon budgets, and global biogeochemical cycles.     

Modelling phytoplankton deposition to Chesapeake Bay sediments during winter–spring: interannual variability in relation to river flow

The often-rapid deposition of phytoplankton to sediments at the end of the spring phytoplankton bloom is an important component of benthic–pelagic coupling in temperate and high latitude estuaries and other aquatic systems. However, quantifying the flux is difficult, particularly in spatially heterogeneous environments. Surficial sediment chlorophyll-a, which can be measured quickly at many locations, has been used effectively by previous studies as an indicator of phytoplankton deposition to estuarine sediments. In this study, surficial sediment chlorophyll-a was quantified in late spring at 20–50 locations throughout Chesapeake Bay for 8 years (1993–2000). A model was developed to estimate chlorophyll-a deposition to sediments using these measurements, while accounting for chlorophyll-a degradation during the time between deposition and sampling. Carbon flux was derived from these estimates via C:chl-a = 75.Bay-wide, the accumulation of chlorophyll-a on sediments by late spring averaged 171 mg m⁻², from which the chlorophyll-a and carbon sinking fluxes, respectively, were estimated to be 353 mg m⁻² and 26.5 gC m⁻². These deposition estimates were ∼50% of estimates based on a sediment trap study in the mid-Bay. During 1993–2000, the highest average chlorophyll-a flux was in the mid-Bay (248 mg m⁻²), while the lowest was in the lower Bay (191 mg m⁻²). Winter–spring average river flow was positively correlated with phytoplankton biomass in the lower Bay water column, while phytoplankton biomass in that same region of the Bay was correlated with increased chlorophyll-a deposition to sediments. Responses in other regions of the Bay were less clear and suggested that the concept that nutrient enrichment in high flow years leads to greater phytoplankton deposition to sediments may be an oversimplification. A comparison of the carbon flux associated with the deposition of the spring bloom with annual benthic carbon budgets indicated that the spring bloom did not contribute a disproportionately large fraction of annual carbon inputs to Chesapeake Bay sediments. Regional patterns in chlorophyll-a deposition did not correspond with the strong regional patterns that have been found for plankton net community metabolism during spring.     

Changes in structural and functional diversity of nematode communities during a spring phytoplankton bloom in the southern North Sea

The response of nematode communities to the sedimentation of a spring phytoplankton bloom in a sandy, well-oxygenated sediment at a single station (station 330) in the Southern North Sea was investigated monthly from early March to July 1999. Both structural (nematode density, diversity, vertical distribution and community composition) and functional (feeding type distributions, number of species within feeding groups) characteristics showed considerable changes shortly after the arrival of fresh organic material at the sediment surface. The general increase in numerical densities and diversity was related to changes within the groups of selective deposit-feeding and epistrate-feeding nematodes. It is hypothesised that sedimentation and subsequent remineralisation of fresh organic matter during the spring phytoplankton bloom result in an increase of suitable food items (both living and dead). This, combined with the availability of oxygen, creates conditions in which many nematode species can co-exist.     

Benthic community responses to pulses in pelagic food supply: North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

Time-series measurements of particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate nitrogen (PN) fluxes, sediment community composition, and sediment community oxygen consumption (SCOC) were made at the Hawaii Ocean Time-series station (Sta. ALOHA, 4730 m depth) between December 1997 and January 1999. POC and PN fluxes, estimated from sediment trap collections made at 4000 m depth (730 m above bottom), peaked in late August and early September 1998. SCOC was measured in situ using a free vehicle grab respirometer that also recovered sediments for chemical and biological analyses on six cruises during the 1-year study. Surface sediment organic carbon, total nitrogen and phaeopigments significantly increased in September, corresponding to the pulses in particulate matter fluxes. Bacterial abundance in the surface sediment was highest in September with a subsurface high in November. Sediment macrofauna were numerically dominated by agglutinating Foraminifera fragments with highest density in September. Metazoan abundance, dominated by nematodes was also highest in September. SCOC significantly increased from a low in February to a high in September. POC and PN fluxes at 730 m above bottom were significantly correlated with SCOC with a lag time of ⩽14 days, linking pelagic food supply with benthic processes in the oligotrophic North Pacific gyre. The annual supply of POC into the abyss compared to the estimated annual demand by the sediment community (POC:SCOC) indicates that only 65% of the food demand is met by the supply of organic carbon.     

The effect of a natural water-movement related disturbance on the structure of meiofauna and macrofauna communities in the intertidal sand flat of Rocas Atoll (NE, Brazil)

Rocas, the only atoll in the South Atlantic, is located 266 km off the northeast Brazilian coast. Spatial patterns in community structure of meiofauna, particularly nematodes, and macrofauna were examined along a transect through the sediment path from windward to leeward of the Rocas Atoll sand flat. Differences in benthic community structure between four zones of the sand flat were found to be significant and related to the major local processes of carbonate-grain transport and sedimentation. Both meiobenthic and macrobenthic assemblages were significantly more diverse and abundant within the sediment inflow zone (the initial part of the detrital path of Rocas sand flat) than in the other zones, where a clear impoverishment of benthic invertebrates occurred. This first study of the benthos of an intertidal sand flat over a reef island in the Atlantic showed that the meiofauna is numerically dominated by the nematodes Metoncholainussp. 1 (Oncholaimidae) and Epsilonema sp. 1 (Epsilonematidade), whilst the macrofauna is largely dominated by oligochaetes and large Oncholaimidae nematodes. Analysis of the species composition, trophic structure and abundance of both the meiobenthos and the macrobenthos revealed an impoverished community subjected to an intense water-movement disturbance.     

Relict sand dredging for beach nourishment in the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy): effects on benthic assemblages

The aim of this study is to analyse the effects in space and time of relict sand-dredging activities on macrobenthic assemblages, in an area situated offshore Montalto di Castro (central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), and to analyse the recolonisation processes of macrobenthos in the dredged areas. The area in question is characterised by relict sand deposits (Holocenic paleo-beaches), used for beach nourishment along the Latium coast. The effects of sand extraction on benthic assemblages were investigated before, during and after three dredging operations. The sites analysed are located within the dredged areas (inside stations) and in neighbouring, not dredged, areas (outside stations). The results showed that the impact of sand extraction was confined to the dredged stations and to the areas in proximity to the dredged areas. During dredging activities, the structure of benthic assemblages within the impacted stations was characterised by low species richness and diversity. Both the direct removal of sediment and the re-suspension and consequent deposition of fine sediment affected benthic assemblages of the impacted stations. A few months after the dredgings, a recolonisation process was still observed at all the impacted stations. A gradual recolonisation process was observed at those stations affected by only one dredging, whereas a different recolonisation was observed at those stations affected by two dredgings over time. This study suggests that differences of re-colonisation processes of benthic assemblages are related to the intensity of dredging operations in terms of dredging frequency.     

台湾海峡中北部海域春季小型底栖生物丰度和生物量

2009年4月14～16日在台湾海峡中北部海域进行了小型底栖生物调查研究.结果表明,研究海域的小型底栖生物平均丰度为21.11±16.29 ind/cm^2;平均生物量为20.97±4.96μg/cm^2（以干重记）.研究海域共鉴定出13个小型底栖生物类群,按丰度,最优势类群为自由生活海洋线虫其丰度为19.23±15.49 ind/cm^2,占小型底栖生物总丰度的91.10%,其他优势类群依次为底栖桡足类和多毛类,分别占小型底栖生物总丰度的2.77%和2.64%;分布在0～5 cm的表层沉积物内的小型底栖生物约为83.18%,线虫和底栖桡足类分布在0～2 cm的比例分别为57.66%和62.96%.小型底栖生物的生物量低于大型底栖生物,但由于其繁殖快,生命周期短,因此,其生物量约为大型底栖生物的445倍,年平均生产量约为大型底栖生物的1.39倍.     

黄海秋季大型底栖甲壳类多样性及群落结构的初步研究

基于2014年秋季（11月）在黄海海域所获取的大型底栖动物及环境数据,研究了黄海海域大型底栖甲壳类动物的种类组成、丰度、生物量、多样性以及群落结构特征等。调查海域共发现71种大型底栖甲壳类动物,隶属于32科45属,其平均丰度和生物量分别为278inds./m2和2.33g/m2。IRI值最高的物种为太平洋方甲涟虫Eudorella pacifica。在23%的相似度水平上,可以将大型底栖甲壳类划分为六个群落。Pearson相关性结果显示,太平洋方甲涟虫Eudorella pacifica丰度与水深呈极显著正相关,与底盐呈显著正相关,与底温呈显著负相关。大型底栖甲壳类动物的物种数占比在黄海大型底栖动物类群组成中变化不大,都在30%左右。BOPA指数表明,调查海域底栖生态环境整体良好,仅黄海中部和南部部分站位可能存在中度扰动;BOPA指数能较好地评价研究海域的环境质量状况。     

深沪湾大型底栖动物群落及其次级生产力初步研究

2006年1、4月和2008年8月共3个季节在深沪湾潮下带10个取样站定量采集大型底栖动物．根据各个季节获得的大型底栖动物栖息丰度和生物量,采用Brey（1990）的经验公式进行了大型底栖动物次级生产力和P/B值的计算,得出深沪湾潮下带大型底栖动物年平均次级生产力和P／B值分别为0．599g（AFDW）／（m^2·a）和1．561．深沪湾大型底栖动物生物量和平均次级生产力的空间分布为湾顶〉湾中〉湾口．与2000年以来我国近海港湾和河口相关研究结果比较,深沪湾大型底栖动物群落的生态特点是栖息丰度、生物量和次级生产力低,但种类多样性指数较高．这些特征与深沪湾面积小、水动力强和沙质沉积物等环境因素有关．     

Sediment-related distribution patterns of nematodes and macrofauna: two sides of the benthic coin?

We investigated the sediment-related distribution of both nematodes and macrofauna on the Belgian part of the North Sea (Southern Bight of the North Sea) in order to evaluate whether both faunal groups reflect similar patterns in community composition and diversity. Fine-grained sediments (median grain size <200μm) were inhabited by nematode communities characterised by a low diversity and dominated by non-selective deposit-feeding nematodes. Nematode communities from coarser sediments were significantly different in terms of community composition and diversity. Moreover, all nematode feeding types were present in coarser sediments. These differences were explained by the contrasting biogeochemical processes prevailing in both sediment types, rather than granulometry and food availability per se. Macrofaunal distribution patterns were different from those of the nematode communities and seem to be related to water column processes (SPM loading, food availability, hydrodynamic stress) that promote the establishment of diverse communities in the coarser sediments but not in the finest sediments. This suggests that data on nematodes and macrofauna reveal different, complementary aspects of the factors structuring the benthic ecosystem that can be of importance in assessing the ecological status of the seafloor.     

红树林湿地沉积物中海洋线虫个体干质量的研究

对采自2012-2013年4个季度,福建九龙江口和洛阳江口红树林湿地沉积物中的海洋线虫进行了分选和制片,对其优势属的全部个体进行了体长和体宽的测量。利用体积换算法,获得了线虫群落成体干质量变化情况。结果表明:红树林湿地沉积物中海洋线虫群落优势属个体成体干质量在0.14~4.88 μg之间,幼体的变化范围在0.17~1.46 μg之间,平均的个体干质量为0.826 μg。海洋线虫群落结构种类组成和幼体所占比例是影响线虫个体干质量估算的主要因素。建议对红树林湿地沉积物中海洋线虫生物量的估计当以实测为最佳,如采用经验系数则建议使用个体平均干质量0.8 μg。     

Food web flows through a sub-arctic deep-sea benthic community

The benthic food web of the deep Faroe–Shetland Channel (FSC) was modelled by using the linear inverse modelling methodology. The reconstruction of carbon pathways by inverse analysis was based on benthic oxygen uptake rates, biomass data and transfer of labile carbon through the food web as revealed by a pulse-chase experiment. Carbon deposition was estimated at 2.2 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹. Approximately 69% of the deposited carbon was respired by the benthic community with bacteria being responsible for 70% of the total respiration. The major fraction of the labile detritus flux was recycled within the microbial loop leaving merely 2% of the deposited labile phytodetritus available for metazoan consumption. Bacteria assimilated carbon at high efficiency (0.55) but only 24% of bacterial production was grazed by metazoans; the remaining returned to the dissolved organic matter pool due to viral lysis. Refractory detritus was the basal food resource for nematodes covering ∼99% of their carbon requirements. On the contrary, macrofauna seemed to obtain the major part of their metabolic needs from bacteria (49% of macrofaunal consumption). Labile detritus transfer was well-constrained, based on the data from the pulse-chase experiment, but appeared to be of limited importance to the diet of the examined benthic organisms (<1% and 5% of carbon requirements of nematodes and macrofauna respectively). Predation on nematodes was generally low with the exception of sub-surface deposit-feeding polychaetes that obtained 35% of their energy requirements from nematode ingestion. Carnivorous polychaetes also covered 35% of their carbon demand through predation although the preferred prey, in this case, was other macrofaunal animals rather than nematodes. Bacteria and detritus contributed 53% and 12% to the total carbon ingestion of carnivorous polychaetes suggesting a high degree of omnivory among higher consumers in the FSC benthic food web. Overall, this study provided a unique insight into the functioning of a deep-sea benthic community and demonstrated how conventional data can be exploited further when combined with state-of-the-art modelling approaches.     

Responses of deep-sea benthos to sedimentation patterns in the North-East Atlantic in 1992

In an extended deep-sea study the response of the benthic community to seasonally varying sedimentation rates of organic matter were investigated at a fixed abyssal site in the NE Atlantic (BIOTRANS station or JGOFS station L2 at 47°N–20°W, water depth >4500 m) on four legs of METEOR expedition 21 between March and August 1992. The vertical flux at 3500 m depth and temporal variations in the chloroplastic pigment concentration, a measure of phytodetritus deposition, and of total adenylates and total phospholipids, measures of benthic biomass, and of activity of hydrolytic enzymes were observed. The flux patterns in moored sediment traps of total chlorophyll, POC and total flux showed an early sedimentation peak in March/April 1992, followed by low fluxes in May and intermediate ones from June to August. Thus 1992 differed from other years, in which one large flux peak after the spring phytoplankton bloom was observed. Unusually high concentrations of chloroplastic pigments were consistently observed in March 1992, reflecting the early sedimentation input. At the same time biomass of small benthic organisms (bacteria to meiobenthos) and activity of hydrolytic enzymes were higher compared to values from March 1985 and from the following months in 1992. In May and August 1992 pigment concentrations and biomass and activity parameters in the sediment were lower than during previously observed depositions of phytodetrital matter in summer. The data imply that the deep ocean benthic community reacts to small sedimentation events with transient increases in metabolic activity and only small biomass production. The coupling between pelagic and benthic processes is so close that interannual variability in surface water production is “mirrored” by deep-sea benthic processes.     

Comparative biomass structure and estimated carbon flow in food webs in the deep Gulf of Mexico

A budget of the standing stocks and cycling of organic carbon associated with the sea floor has been generated for seven sites across a 3-km depth gradient in the NE Gulf of Mexico, based on a series of reports by co-authors on specific biotic groups or processes. The standing stocks measured at each site were bacteria, Foraminifera, metazoan meiofauna, macrofauna, invertebrate megafauna, and demersal fishes. Sediment community oxygen consumption (SCOC) by the sediment-dwelling organisms was measured at each site using a remotely deployed benthic lander, profiles of oxygen concentration in the sediment pore water of recovered cores and ship-board core incubations. The long-term incorporation and burial of organic carbon into the sediments has been estimated using profiles of a combination of stable and radiocarbon isotopes. The total stock estimates, carbon burial, and the SCOC allowed estimates of living and detrital carbon residence time within the sediments, illustrating that the total biota turns over on time scales of months on the upper continental slope but this is extended to years on the abyssal plain at 3.6 km depth. The detrital carbon turnover is many times longer, however, over the same depths. A composite carbon budget illustrates that total carbon biomass and associated fluxes declined precipitously with increasing depth. Imbalances in the carbon budgets suggest that organic detritus is exported from the upper continental slope to greater depths offshore.The respiration of each individual “size” or functional group within the community has been estimated from allometric models, supplemented by direct measurements in the laboratory. The respiration and standing stocks were incorporated into budgets of carbon flow through and between the different size groups in hypothetical food webs. The decline in stocks and respiration with depth were more abrupt in the larger forms (fishes and megafauna), resulting in an increase in the relative predominance of smaller sizes (bacteria and meiofauna) at depth. Rates and stocks in the deep northern GoM appeared to be comparable to other continental margins where similar comparisons have been made.     

渤海大型底栖动物丰度和生物量的研究

于 1997年 6月、1998年 9月和 1999年 4月 3个航次对渤海的大型底栖动物进行了定量研究。在研究海区共采到大型底栖动物 30 6种 ,其中甲壳动物 97种 ,环节动物 95种 ,软体动物 88种 ,棘皮动物 11种 ,其它动物共 15种。其总平均丰度和生物量分别为 2 5 76 ind./m2和4 4 .4 7g/m2。渤海大部海区的总平均生物量在过去十年中可能未发生大的变化。渤海含砂量相对高的生境有较高的动物丰度 ,而在水位较深的水域 ,由于有较高的初级生产量到达底部 ,从而支持着较高的大型底栖动物的生物量。渤海海峡口可能是渤海大型底栖动物生物量的高值区     

A field experimental study on recolonization and succession of macrobenthic infauna in defaunated sediment contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons

A field experiment was carried out in Hong Kong to study the patterns of recolonization and succession of subtidal macrobenthos in defaunated sediment contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and to determine the time required for benthic recovery from petroleum contamination. A total of 31 species was found and 83 animals/tray and 14 species/tray on an average were recorded after one month. Initial colonization was dominated by polychaetes in both abundance and species number (accounting for 69.1% and 64.5%, respectively). Abundance of macrobenthos came to a small crest (308 animals/tray) after three months, reached a sharp peak (1257 animals/tray) after six months, and then declined to a steady level. Abundance, species number and diversity in the petroleum-contaminated sediment were significantly lower than those in the control sediment in the early successional stages, indicating deleterious effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on recolonization and succession of macrobenthos. Petroleum hydrocarbons in sediment significantly altered species composition of macrobenthos in recolonization and succession. No significant differences in community parameters and species composition between the petroleum-contaminated and the control communities were found after 11 months, indicating that macrobenthic community had recovered from petroleum contamination.     

枯季长江口南汇东滩潮间带盐沼湿地冲淤变化对大型底栖动物功能群的影响

盐沼湿地的冲淤变化是影响大型底栖动物功能群组成及其分布特征的一个重要因素。本文选择长江口南汇东滩作为研究区域,设置固定样地,分别于2015年11月和2016年2月,进行了大型底栖动物和沉积物理化因子的季节性取样分析,并在期间内每月进行滩面冲淤变化的观测,分析了枯季长江口南汇东滩潮间带盐沼湿地冲淤变化对大型底栖动物功能群的影响及作用机理。调研期间共采集到大型底栖动物37种,从功能群组成来看,以杂食者居多,共25种;植食者次之,共7种;肉食者最少,仅为5种。3种食性功能群的物种数、密度和生物量的时空变化特征有所不同。调研期间,3个功能群物种数都略有下降;植食者密度显著增加（P<0.01）,而肉食者、杂食者密度变化不显著（P>0.05）;3个功能群的生物量变化均不显著（P>0.05）。植食者密度和生物量在样地间都存在极显著差异（P<0.01）;肉食者和杂食者仅密度在2016年2月的调研中存在样地间的显著差异（P<0.05）。不同样地月际冲淤变化特征有所不同,但总体均呈淤涨态势。多数环境因子存在显著的空间差异（P<0.05）,仅不同深度的沉积物中值粒径在样地间无显著差异（P>0.05）。滩面冲淤变化对沉积物理化指标的变化具有主导作用。通过非线性回归分析筛选出的与各功能群物种数、密度、生物量变化具有显著相关性（P<0.05）的环境因子组合存在差异。其中,对植食者密度、生物量的变化和肉食者物种数的变化有显著影响的环境因子组合中都包含绝对冲淤变化量。滩面冲淤变化除对大型底栖动物产生直接影响外,还会通过改变沉积物理化因子特征,间接对大型底栖动物产生影响。对于3种食性功能群来说,产生影响作用的主要生境因子存在明显差异。虽然各食性功能群的物种数均有下降,但相对另外两种功能群而言,沉积物中的营养环境还是更利于杂食者的生存,因此杂食者在竞争过程中更具优势。未来相关研究需要在多因子系统监测的基础上,结合洪季的观测结果,进行综合分析。     

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.