Study On The Ecology Of Macrobenthos In Shore Of Shandong Province

Extensive investigations on macrobenthic communities of Shore of Shandong Province were carried out from Aug.,2006 to Oct.,2007. The species composition, dominant species,abundance,biomass,biodiversity and the secondary production were analyzed; Multivariate analysis methods were used to analyze the macrobenthic community structure and the ABC curves(abundance biomass comparison) was used to detect pollution-induced disturbance in marine benthic communities. The results can be used as the updated baseline for further study.A total of 378 macrobenthic taxa were recorded in this survey belonging to Coelenterata, Platyhelminthes, Nemertinea, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, Chordates, respectively. Nephthys oligobranchia,Mediomastus sp.,Sternaspis sculata,Thyasira tokunagai,Paralacydonia paradoxa, Hiatella orientalia and Sigambra bassi were the dominant species.In spring, the mean abundance, biomass were 1328 ind./m2 and 20.75 g/m2.The abundance of macrobenthos was well-proportioned,while the biomass was higher in Qingdao sea area and was lower in Haiyang and Rushan sea area. In summer, the mean abundance, biomass were 1917 ind./m2 and 16.46 g/m2.The abundance of the study area was higher than other seasons. The abundance of Jiaozhou Bay was the highest area and the abundance of study area was lower off the shore.The biomass was not well-proportioned and there were several high value in the study area.In autumn, the mean abundance, biomass were 939 ind./m2 and 16.55 g/m2.The abundance was higher in Qingdao and Haiyang sea area,while was lower in Rizhao and Rushan sea area.The biomass was highest in the bays.In winter, the mean abundance, biomass were 2431 ind./m2 and 11.10 g/m2.The abundance of Qingdao sea area was higher than Haiyang and Rushan sea area, while the biomass was lower compared with other seasons.Using a clusterisation dendrogram, three benthic assemblage types were distinguished. Type I, II, and III were titled as "Nephthys oligobranchia --- Sternaspis sculata --- Sigambra bassi assemblage", "Notomastus latericeus --- Aricidea fragilis--- Mediomastus sp. assemblage" and "Paralacydonia paradoxa --- A.fragilis ---Amphioplus japonicus assemblage" respectively. Type I located in Rushan Bay,Jiaozhou Bay and Aoshan Bay with clayey silt sediment texture and II located in Qingdao sea area with sandy sediment texture. Type III located in Rizhao sea area with sand and gravel sediment texture.The three benthic assemblage types were variational in different season.The mean secondary production was 8.03 g (A FDW)/(m2·a) on the study area.And it is higher than Bohai,Donghai or Nanhuanghai.Biodiversity was low in most parts of the study area. The highest diversity was observed in Type I assemblage, while the II and III were low. Biodiversity and the ABC plots showed polluted conditions in a certain extent in most part of the study area.