Benthic macrofaunal communities along an estuarine gradient in the Jiaojiang River estuary, China

Authors

  • Yibo Liao Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Marine College of Ningbo University, No. 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo 315211, China
  • Lu Shou Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, No. 36 Baochubei Road, Hangzhou 310012, China
  • Zhibing Jiang Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Marine College of Ningbo University, No. 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo 315211, China
  • Aigen Gao Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, No. 36 Baochubei Road, Hangzhou 310012, China
  • Jiangning Zeng Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, No. 36 Baochubei Road, Hangzhou 310012, China
  • Quanzhen Chen Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, No. 36 Baochubei Road, Hangzhou 310012, China
  • Xiaojun Yan Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Marine College of Ningbo University, No. 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo 315211, China

Keywords:

benthic macrofauna, salinity gradient, nutrient load

Abstract

Benthic macrofaunal communities along an estuarine gradient of a macrotidal estuary of the Jiaojiang River, China were analyzed to reveal spatial variations in those communities and their relationships with environmental variables. Benthic macrofauna were collected from 15 sampling stations in May and October 2010. Polychaetes and Mollusks are the dominant taxonomic groups. The species richness, density and Shannon diversity index generally tended to increase as one moved away from shore toward the outer stations of the estuary. Cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling ordinations indicated the presence of three distinct zones of macrofaunal communities in the estuary. Multivariate analyses showed a strong relationship exists between the macrofaunal communities and the environmental parameters in the Jiaojiang River estuary. Aside from salinity, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphate contents were also the major factor affecting the structure of the macrofaunal communities. The results demonstrated the important effects of nutrient-load on the distributional patterns of benthic macrofaunal communities in nutrient-rich estuaries.

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Published

2016-07-02

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 3 (2016): Marine environments and dynamic processes in the northern South China Sea

Section

Research article

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