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Seasonal Composition of Benthic Macroinfauna Exposed to Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

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Abstract

Bottom-water hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico has increased in severity (duration, frequency, and intensity) since the 1970s and has impacted the less-mobile benthos ever since. From September 2003 to October 2004, the macrobenthic density, species richness, community composition, and vertical distribution were studied at a frequently hypoxic station, C6B (28°52.10′ N and 90°28.00′ W). The polychaete-dominated community was approximately three times less dense and diverse in post-hypoxic months compared to pre-hypoxic months. The lowest oxygen concentrations in July 2004 did not significantly affect the infaunal community as predicted; rather, the response was observed 1 month later after a longer, low-oxygen exposure. The opportunistic, hypoxia-tolerant polychaete, Paraprionospio pinnata, population increased in July 2004 when other common species decreased, thereby maintaining pre-hypoxic densities. Determining the duration and severity of hypoxia prior to sampling rather than at the time of sampling helps to better understand benthic community responses to hypoxia.

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Acknowledgments

This project was co-funded by Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) and by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research grant no. NA03NOS4780037 to N. Rabalais. Our appreciation goes to J. Baustian, J. Lee, C. Milan, J. Plunket, L. Pride, K. Reynolds, and A. Sapp, for their field work participation. For laboratory assistance, we thank N. Atilla, L. Appelbaum, R. Carney, C. Milan, and R.E. Turner. Thank you to L. Pride for providing the continuous oxygen data and K. Sinclair and T. Widgeon for developing the map. Special thanks to four anonymous reviewers for improving our manuscript. This is publication number 116 of the NOAA CSCOR NGOMEX program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 1231 Energy, Coast and Environment Building, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Melissa M. Baustian

  2. Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, 8124 Highway 56, Chauvin, LA, 70344, USA

    Nancy N. Rabalais

Authors
  1. Melissa M. Baustian
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  2. Nancy N. Rabalais
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Correspondence to Melissa M. Baustian.

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Table S1

Benthic infaunal densities (individuals m−2) for 14 monthly triplicate samples used to calculate the mean. (DOC 43 kb)

Table S2

List of macroinfauna identified monthly at station C6B from September 2003 to October 2004 off the coast of Louisiana. *** Benthic organism could not be identified to family level. (DOC 82 kb)

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Baustian, M.M., Rabalais, N.N. Seasonal Composition of Benthic Macroinfauna Exposed to Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Estuaries and Coasts 32, 975–983 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9187-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9187-3

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