| This study was implemented in wetland of shoals of the Yangtze Estuary, Specific goals were as follow: (1) Effects of habitat alteration by the saltmarsh vegetations on the macrozoobenthic community structure; (2) Macrozoobenthic succession; (3) Primary study on secondary production of the macrozoobenthos at the intertidal zone of Dongtan, Chongming Island. (4) Comparation of the macrozoobenthic communities between in the two new emergent Shoals at the gate areas of the north and the south branches of the Yangtze Estuary.Major results of this study were:1. The saltmarsh vegetations conspicuously influenced on the macrozoobenthic community structure. All sampling sites were located at the same elevational level at the intertidal zone of Dongtan, Chongming Island in May, 2005. The life form of the dominant species in Scirpus x mariqueter patches, Phragmites australis patches and Spartina alterniflora patches were all adhering Mollusca, While the life form of the dominant species at bare land was caving Crustacea. Species number, total individuals, Shannon-Wiener index value, Margalef index value, means density and mean biomass (fresh weight) of the macrozoobenthic community at bare land were lower than those in the three saltmarsh patches. There were significant differences (p<0.05, LSD-tests) in mean macrofaunal density between in the three saltmarsh patches and at bare land. All these differences suggested the obvious effects of the saltmarch vegetations on the macrozoobenthic community structure. These effects may be direct, such as through alteration of habitat structure, or may be indirect as through shifts in hydrodynamic or deposition regimes and so on. Though the macrozoobenthic communities in the three saltmarsh patches were very similar, they could also be distinguished from each other by the technique of MDS ordination. The Scirpusx mariqueter patches was the most suitable habitat for the macrozoobenthic community among the three patches. Based...
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