Seasonal variations in the community structures of macrobenthic fauna and their health status in an estuarine bay, Gwangyang Bay in Korea

• Published in: Ocean science journal Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 367 - 385
• Main Authors: Seo, Jin-Young, An, Soon-Mo, Lim, Dhong-il, Choi, Jin-Woo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology and the Korean Society of Oceanography 01.09.2017; Springer Nature B.V; 한국해양과학기술원
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Autumn; Biomass; Brackishwater environment; Dominant species; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Estuaries; Fauna; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Mollusks; Oceanography; Seasonal variation; Seasonal variations; Seasons; Species richness; Spring; Structures; Summer; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Zoobenthos; 해양학; South Korea; macrozoobenthos; health status; Gwangyang Bay; South Korea; community structure; seasonal change; estuarine bay
• ISSN: 1738-5261; 2005-7172
• DOI: 10.1007/s12601-017-0038-z

Macrobenthic fauna in an estuarine Gwangyang Bay, southern Korean coast, were investigated to uncover recent variations in their community structures. In the study area, macrobenthic faunal communities were mainly composed of polychaete worms which were the most abundant faunal group with the highest values in species number and density, while mollusks accounted for the highest proportion in total biomass. There was no clear seasonal difference in species richness during the two year period of the investigation, but the mean density and biomass increased every spring and summer due to the mass recruitment of Theora fragilis . The Shannon’s diversity index (H') was more than 2.0 during most sampling seasons and did not show any significant seasonal difference except for the data in August, 2011 when azoic conditions occurred. The community structures of macrobenthos in Gwangyang Bay did not show any remarkable change in the dominance of the two top dominant species, Scoletoma longifolia and Heteromastus filiformis , which abundantly occurred in all seasons, except for the abundance peaks associated with high occurrence of T. fragilis and Paraprionospio cordifolia , especially in spring and summer and in autumn, respectively. These fauna changes reflected the changes in the macrobenthic community health status in Gwangyang Bay, where stable conditions and a healthy status prevailed in winter, but a slightly disturbed status prevailed from spring to autumn.