Biodiversity and seasonal variation of benthic macrofauna in Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

From the Indian coast only limited data are available on the benthic fauna of the seagrass communities. In this study, seasonal variation in the distribution of macrobenthos and influence of environmental parameters was explored at four seagrass beds and two mangrove stations along the Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India, from September 1999 to August 2001. A total of 160 macrobenthic species from eight major groups represented the macrofauna of the Minicoy Island. Of the identified taxa, molluscs 70（gastropods 41.46%, bivalves 7.5%）, polychaetes 27（16.88%）, crustaceans 30（18.75%）, echinoderms 11（6.88%） and remaining others. Average seasonal abundance of benthic macrofauna ranged from 219 to 711 ind./m2, species diversity varied from 1.45 to 3.64 bits per individual, species richness index ranged from 4.01 to 26.17, evenness 0.69 to 1.66. In general, the higher abundance and species diversity was noticed in southern seagrass stations and northern seagrass stations, but in the mangrove stations comparatively low species diversity was observed. Three-way analysis of variance indicated that all communities resulted as being significantly different between seagrass and mangrove station, mainly when the seasonal interaction was considered. Multivariate analyses were employed to help define benthic characteristic and the relationship between environmental parameters at the six monitoring stations. Results of cluster analyses and multidimensional scale plot suggest that for mangrove region, different physiographic provinces, lower salinity, dissolved oxygen and sediment biotic structure have a higher influence on the species composition and diversity than other oceanographic conditions.     

烟台潮间带大型底栖动物群落组成和结构研究

根据2009年11月至2010年8月对烟台3种典型潮间带的大型底栖动物调查,分析了烟台典型潮间带大型底栖动物的群落结构特征,包括群落种类组成、丰度和生物量、优势种、多样性等,采用MDS和CLUSTER分析了大型底栖动物的群落结构,并用AMBI和m-AMBI对底栖群落和环境质量进行了评估。结果表明:本次调查共鉴定出大型底栖动物111种,其中多毛类动物40种,甲壳动物37种,软体动物29种,棘皮动物1种,鱼类2种,其他动物2种(包括纽虫和腔肠动物各1种)。多毛类动物和甲壳动物占据了研究区域底栖群落的主要成分,两者分别占据了群落总种数的36.04%和33.33%。从季节来看,3种类型潮间带物种数均为冬季最低,而秋季则普遍处于较高水平。物种丰度在3种类型潮间带的分布为泥沙质的渔人码头泥质的养马岛沙质的辛安河口,3种类型潮间带的丰度主要贡献者分别为甲壳动物、软体动物和多毛类动物。渔人码头和辛安河口的生物量均以秋季为最高,而养马岛在冬季达到最高,且远高于其他3个季节;软体动物是3种不同类型潮间带生物量的主要贡献者。烟台3种类型潮间带出现的优势种多达15种,但多数优势种仅在某个潮间带的单个季节出现,优势种受季节和潮间带类型的影响明显;日本大螯蜚(优势度为0.29~0.82)是渔人码头全年的优势种,中型阿曼吉虫则是辛安河口的主要优势物种,养马岛的优势物种则为养殖逃逸的菲律宾蛤仔。与以往历史资料相比,烟台潮间带大型底栖动物已经受到了人类活动的深刻影响,原有的潮间带经济种类已经严重退化或消失。     

Anthropogenic organic contaminants in water, sediments and benthic organisms of the mangrove-fringed Segara Anakan Lagoon, Java, Indonesia

Segara Anakan, a mangrove-fringed coastal lagoon in Indonesia, has a high diversity of macrobenthic invertebrates and is increasingly affected by human activities. We found >50 organic contaminants in water, sediment and macrobenthic invertebrates from the lagoon most of which were polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). Composition of PACs pointed to petrogenic contamination in the eastern lagoon. PACs mainly consisted of alkylated PAHs, which are more abundant in crude oil than parent PAHs. Highest total PAC concentration in sediment was above reported toxicity thresholds for aquatic invertebrates. Other identified compounds derived from municipal sewage and also included novel contaminants like triphenylphosphine oxide. Numbers of stored contaminants varied between species which is probably related to differences in microhabitat and feeding mode. Most contaminants were detected in Telescopium telescopium and Polymesoda erosa. Our findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the risk potential of alkylated PAHs, which has hardly been addressed previously.     

Macrobenthic community in the Xiaoqing River Estuary in Laizhou Bay, China

The macrobenthic community of the Xiaoqing River Estuary and the adjacent sea waters was investigated in May and November 2008, August 2009, and May and September 2010, respectively. A total of 95 species of macrobenthos were identified in the five cruises and most of them were polychaetes (46.39%), mollusks (28.86%) and crustaceans (20.62%). The Shannon-Wiener index of macrobenthos was lower than 2 in 67% sites. Along the stream channel, estuary and the coastal waters, the species of polychaetes reduced gradually, while the abundance increased at first and then decreased. The abundance was the biggest at regions with salinity of 5–20 in the estuary. The species and abundance of mollusks and crustaceans increased gradually. As for seasonal distribution, the species, abundance and biomass were higher in spring and lower in summer and autumn. Contemporaneously compared with Laizhou Bay and Yellow River Estuary, the species of macrobenthos appeared in the Xiaoqing River Estuary were much less, while the percentage of polychaetes was higher. Abundance and biomass were higher in Xiaoqing River estuary, then consequently followed by Laizhou Bay and Yellow River Estuary. The dominant species in Xiaoqing River Estuary was polychaete, and Layzhou Bay mollusk. The community structure characteristics of macrobenthos in the Xiaoqing River Estuary revealed a significant pollution status in this region.     

Temporal variation of ophiuroids associated with the macroalga Amphiroa fragilissima on a Southwest Atlantic coral reef

The species of Ophiuroidea that commonly occur on coral reefs can be found on different substrates and associated with other organisms including algae, sponges, and corals. This study evaluated the temporal variability of the ophiuroid fauna associated with the alga Amphiroa fragilissima on the Ponta Verde coral reef on the coast of Maceió in Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil. Replicate samples of algal substrate were collected at low tide during in the dry and rainy seasons, over a 10‐year period, from 1998–2007. Eight species of Ophiuroidea were identified, with a total of 8736 individuals associated with A. fragilissima. The most dominant and frequent species of Ophiuroidea were Amphipholis squamata and Ophiactis savignyi; all other species were rare. Cluster analysis and nMDS detected four groups, with two groups each occurring only in summer or winter periods, as well as other groups occurring in both periods.     

温岭海岛潮间带大型底栖生物的群落结构

为了解浙江温岭海岛潮间带大型底栖生物在沿海经济快速发展背景下的群落结构变化,2011年10月和2012年4月对温岭8个海岛8条断面开展了春、秋季2个航次的调查。本次调查共鉴定出潮间带大型底栖生物96种,包括软体动物40种,藻类29种,甲壳动物15种,多毛类6种,棘皮动物6种;平均生物量为1 794.16±1 148.08 g/m²,平均丰度为679±497 ind/m²,生物量和丰度均为秋季高于春季。温岭潮间带大型底栖生物主要以藤壶-荔枝螺群落为主,主要优势种为日本笠藤壶Tetraclita japonica和疣荔枝螺Thais clavigera,其生物量和丰度占80%以上,优势度非常明显。运用ABC曲线、等级聚类和nMDS对大型底栖生物群落结构分析发现,群落结构已受到中度干扰,稳定性差;与周边的洞头列岛、南麂列岛和嵊泗列岛相比,物种数仅为其一半左右。这种分布情况与其所处的生境有关,同时也表明受到人类活动(如污染和采捕等)的影响,群落结构次生化。     

渤海湾曹妃甸围填海工程对大型底栖动物群落的影响

为研究渤海湾围填海工程对附近海域大型底栖动物群落的影响,利用2013年秋季和2014年春季调查数据,对渤海湾附近海域大型底栖动物群落的物种数、总平均丰度、总平均生物量和生物多样性指数进行分析。结果发现,调查区域的优势类群为多毛类,优势种为凸壳肌蛤(Musculus senhousia)和日本倍棘蛇尾(Amphioplus japonicas),这与渤海湾大型底栖动物群落优势种单一和物种小型化的特征相符。曹妃甸围填海海域与邻近海域的大型底栖动物群落物种数、丰度、生物量和多样性指数均没有显著差异。2014年春季较2013年秋季的大型底栖动物群落多样性稍有所提高,这可能是围填海工程放缓和阶段性施工结束后生物群落在缓慢的恢复。ABC曲线(Abundance/Biomass Curves)分析表明渤海湾大型底栖动物群落均已受到中等程度干扰;M-AMBI指数分析发现曹妃甸围填海区大型底栖动物群落健康状况较差。结合渤海湾围填海面积和历史数据,发现围填海等人类活动已对渤海湾生态环境和大型底栖动物群落造成了不同程度的影响,导致该区域的生态系统受损。受损生态系统的完全恢复需要漫长的过程,受损大型底栖动物群落的次生演替也需要较长的时间,短时间内不会有明显的改善。     

The effect of a tidal cycle on the dynamics of nutrients in a tidal estuary in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

A 24 hour time series survey was carried out during a spring tide (tidal range ca.2 m) of May 1995 on a tidal estuary in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, in the context of an integrated program planned to quantify the dynamics of biophilic elements (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) and the roles played by the macrobenthos on the processes. Three stations were set along a transect line of about 1.4 km, which linked the river to the rear to the innermost part of the subtidal zone. Every hour, at each station, measurements were made of surface water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen concentration, and surface water was collected for the determination of nutrients [NH₄ ⁺−N, (NO₃ ⁻+NO₂ ⁻)−N, PO₄ ³⁻−P and Si (OH)₄−Si]. During the ebb flow, riverine input of silicate and nitrate+nitrite significantly increased the concentrations of both the intertidal and the subtidal stations. Conversely, during the high tide, river nutrient concentrations were lowered by the mixing of fresh water with sea water. As a result, best (inverse) correlations were found at the river station for salinity against silicate (y=-2.9 Sal.+110.7,r ²=0.879) and nitrate+nitrite (y=-1.3 Sal.+48.4,r ²=0.796). In contrast, ammonium nitrogen concentrations were higher at intermediate salinities. Indeed, no significant correlation was found between salinity and ammonium. The effect of the macrobenthos, which is abundant on the intertidal flat, is discussed as a biological component that influences the processes of nutrient regeneration within the estuary. The effect of the tidal amplitude is an important one in determining the extent of the variations in nutrient concentrations at all three stations, which were stronger between the lower low tide and the higher high tide.     

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.     

兴化湾大型底栖生物生态研究

兴化湾大型底栖生物已鉴定有314种,平均生物量为36.60g/m2,平均栖息密度为162个/m2.按Bray-Curtis相似性指数和多维排序尺度可划分为4个群落.应用丰度生物量比较法(ABC)和种类个体几何级数显示群落结构相对稳定.