Biodiv Sci ›› 2016, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (7): 791-801.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2015328

Special Issue: 红树林及红树植物 全球气候变化下的海洋生物多样性专辑

• Original Papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Macrobenthic diversity and seasonal changes in the mangrove swamp of Luoyangjiang Estuary, Fujian Province

Junhui Lin, Xuebao He, Jianjun Wang*(), Heshan Lin, Yaqin Huang, Kun Liu, Jianfeng Mou, Shuyi Zhang, Jinxiang Jiang   

  1. Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, Fujian 361005
  • Received:2015-11-23 Accepted:2016-03-08 Online:2016-07-20 Published:2016-08-04
  • Contact: Wang Jianjun

Abstract:

Based on a year round survey conducted in the mangrove swamp of Luoyangjiang Estuary in Fujian from August 2013 to April 2014, macrobenthic diversity, seasonal changes, and the impact of mangrove rehabilitation on the macrobenthic community were analyzed. We recorded a total of 78 species from 7 phyla in the study area and the community was dominated by annelids and arthropods. The gastropod, Assiminea brevicula (Assimineidae), was the most dominant species and was more abundant in mangrove forests than in mudflats. ANOSIM analysis showed that faunal communities were significantly different between mangrove forests and mudflats, with the former characterized by much lower macrobenthic density and biomass. Moreover, some of dominant species, such as Parasesarma plicata and Phascolosoma arcuatum, were only found in mangrove forests. Higher value of macrobenthic density was found in winter and spring, while mean biomass was higher in spring and summer. Significant differences in macrobenthic communites were observed among seasons except between winter and spring. The present study demostrated that, species composition of the mangrove macrobenthos indicated characteristics of a young mangrove plantation and seasonal changes in macrobenthic communities might be due to different breeding seasons of the dominant species. Mangrove vegetation had a noticeable impact on macrobenthic communities, as evidenced by significant difference in macrobenthic communites between the two habitats. Density of macrobenthos in mangrove forests was much lower than that found in 2009, but the sesarminid crab Parasesarma plicata became much abundant. Since mangrove forests and mudflats support different species composition of macrobenthos, planning is needed in mangrove rehabilitation for the protection of habitat diversity and heterogeneity.

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Key words: macrobenthos, species diversity, seasonal changes, mangrove swamp, mangrove rehabilitation, multivariate analysis, Luoyangjiang Estuary