Abstract
Long-term studies were used to examine (1) contrasting time scales and mechanisms of structural variations within two benthic communities and (2) the usefulness of long data sets for evaluating human impact. A 10-year study of a San Francisco Bay mudflat, the details of which are reported elsewhere, has revealed large short-term (on the order of months) variations in species abundances within a community composed predominantly of opportunistic species. The study site, located in a highly urbanized estuary, is subject to the influence of a nearby sewage-treatment facility. However, rapid changes in population size of the common species, in part due to periodic natural habitat disturbance, impedes the detection of anthropogenic influences on community composition. Only a very long-term data set may provide evidence of progressive change. Data collected for a 20-year period on the benthic community at 200 m depth in the main basin of Puget Sound, an environment subject to little apparent habitat disturbance show that numerical abundance of the common species can also change markedly. Here, however, numerical dominance shifts from one species to another at irregular, multiyear intervals. Recent increases in two heretofore rare species, and a significant increase in total numbers of individuals suggest that long-term changes may be occurring in this community. These two long-term data sets demonstrate the importance of measuring both the amplitude and the periodicity of fluctuations in population size of aquatic species as well as long-term fluctuations and patterns in environmental factors before attempting to demonstrate the effect of anthropogenic influences on aquatic communities. The results of these studies also demonstrate the usefulness of long-term data sets for revealing the potential importance of interactions among species in determining abundance patterns in the soft-bottom benthos.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Armstrong, J. W., R. M. Thom, and K. K. Chew. 1980. Impact of a combined sewer overflow on the abundance, distribution and community structure of subtidal benthos. Mar. Environ. Res. 4:3–23.
Beukema, J. J. 1974. Seasonal changes in the biomass of the macro-benthos of a tidal flat area in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res. 8:94–107.
Beukema, J. J. 1979. Biomass and species richness of the macrobenthic animals living on a tidal flat area in the Dutch Wadden Sea: Effects of a severe winter. Neth. J. Sea. Res. 13:203–223.
Beukema, J. J., W. De Bruin, and J. J. M. Jansen. 1978. Biomass and species richness of the macrobenthic animals living on the tidal flats of the Dutch Wadden Sea: Long-term changes during a period with mild winters. Neth. J. Sea. Res. 12:58–77.
Boesch, D. F., R. J. Diaz, and R. W. Virnstein. 1976. Effects of tropical storm Agnes on soft-bottom macrobenthic communities of the James and York estuaries and the lower Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Sci. 17:246–259.
Boesch, D. F., and R. Rosenberg. 1982. Response to stress in marine benthic communities, p. 179–200. In G. W. Barrett and R. Rosenberg (eds.), Stress Effects on Natural Ecosystems. John Wiley, New York.
Buchanan, J. B., M. Sheader, and P. F. Kingston. 1978. Sources of variability in the benthic macrofauna off the south Northumberland Coast, 1971–1976. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 58:191–209.
California State Water Resources Control Board. 1982. Aquatic habitat program: Plan for assessing the effects of pollutants in the San Francisco Bay—Delta estuary. Water Resources Control Board Publ. 82-7SP, 49 p.
Connell, J. H., and W. P. Sousa. 1983. On the evidence needed to judge ecological stability or persistence. Am. Nat. 121:789–824.
Dayton, P. K. 1971. Competition, disturbance and community organization: The provision and subsequent utilization of space in a rocky intertidal community. Ecol. Monogr. 41:351–389.
Eagle, R. A. 1975. Natural fluctuations in a soft bottom benthic community. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 55:865–878.
Ebbesmeyer, C. C., and C. A. Barnes. 1980. Control of a fjord basin’s dynamics by tidal mixing in embracing sill zones. Estuarine Coastal Mar. Sci. 11: 311–330.
Flint, R. W., and J. A. Younk. 1983. Estuarine benthos: Long-term community structure variations, Corpus Christi Bay, Texas. Estuaries 6:126–141.
Grassle, J. F., and J. P. Grassle. 1974. Opportunistic life histories and genetic systems in marine benthic polychaetes. J. Mar. Res. 32:253–284.
Gray, J. S., and H. Christie. 1983. Predicting long-term changes in marine benthic communities. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 13:87–94.
Gray, J. S., and F. B. Mirza. 1979. A possible method for the detection of pollution-induced disturbance on marine benthic communities. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 10:142–146.
Heip, C. 1979. Density and diversity of meiobenthic copepods: The oscillatory behavior of population and community parameters, p. 43–47. In E. Naylor and R. G. Hartnoll (eds.), Cyclic Phenomena in Marine Plants and Animals. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Henriksson, R. 1969. Influence of pollution on the bottom fauna of the Sound (Oresund). Oikos 20: 507–523.
Johnson, R. G. 1970. Variations in diversity within benthic marine communities. Am. Nat. 104:285–300.
Lie, U. 1968. A quantitative study of benthic infauna in Puget Sound Washington, U.S.A., in 1963–1964. Fiskdir. Skr. Ser. Havunders. 14:229–556.
Lie, U., and R. A. Evans. 1973. Long-term variability in the structure of subtidal benthic communities in Puget Sound, Washington, USA. Mar. Biol. 21:122–126.
Likens, G. E. 1983. A priority for ecological research. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Am. 64:234–243.
Luoma, S. N., and D. J. Cain. 1979. Fluctuations of copper, zinc, and silver in tellinid clams as related to freshwater discharge-South San Francisco Bay, p. 231–246. In T. J. Conomos (ed.), San Francisco Bay: The Urbanized Estuary. Pacific Division, Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., San Francisco, Calif.
Luoma, S. N., D. J. Cain, K. Ho, and A. Hutchinson. 1983. Variable tolerance to copper in two species from San Francisco Bay. Mar. Environ. Res. 10:209–223.
McCall, P. L. 1977. Community patterns and adaptive strategies of the infaunal benthos of Long Island Sound. J. Mar. Res. 35:221–266.
Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle. 1982. Paralytic shellfish poisoning: Its history, processes and impacts as applicable to Puget Sound METRO Water Pollution Control Dept. Rep. 20 p.
Nichols, F. H. 1975. Dynamics and energetics of three deposit-feeding benthic invertebrate populations in Puget Sound, Washington. Ecol. Monogr. 45:57–82.
Nichols, F. H. 1979. Natural and anthropogenic influences on benthic community structure in San Francisco Bay, p. 409–426. In T. J. Conomos (ed.), San Francisco Bay: The Urbanized Estuary. Pacific Division, Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., San Francisco, Calif.
Nichols, F. H., and J. K. Thompson. 1985. Persistence of an introduced mudflat community in South San Francisco Bay, California. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. (in press).
Officer, C. B., R. B. Biggs, J. L. Taft, L. E. Cronin, M. A. Tyler, and W. R. Boynton. 1984. Chesapeake Bay anoxia: Origin, development and significance. Science 223:22–27.
Pearce, J. B. 1971. Indicators of solid waste pollution. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 2:11.
Pearson, T. H., and R. Rosenberg. 1978. Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 16:229–311.
Price, R., and R. M. Warwick. 1980. Temporal variations in annual production and biomass in estuarine populations of two polychaetes, Nephtys hombergi and Ampharete acutifrons. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 60:481–487.
Santos, S. L., and J. L. Simon. 1980. Response of soft-bottom benthos to annual catastrophic disturbance in a south Florida estuary. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 3:347–355.
Sutherland, J. P. 1974. Multiple stable points in natural communities. Am. Nat. 108:859–873.
Swartz, R. C., W. A. DeBen, F. A. Cole, and L. C. Bentsen. 1980. Recovery of the macrobenthos at a dredge site in Yaquina Bay, Oregon, p. 391–408. In R. A. Baker (ed.), Contaminants and Sediments, Vol. 2. Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Thompson, J. K. 1982. Population structure of Gemma gemma in South San Francisco Bay, with a comparison to some northeastern United States estuarine populations. Veliger 24:281–290.
Watling, L. 1975. Analysis of structural variations in a shallow estuarine deposit-feeding community. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 19:275–313.
Woodin, S.A. 1976. Adult-larval interactions in dense infaunal assemblages: Patterns of abundance. J. Mar. Res. 34:25–41.
Ziegelmeier, E. 1978. Macrobenthos investigations in the eastern part of the German Bight from 1959 to 1974. Rapp. P.-v. Reun. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer. 172:432–444.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nichols, F.H. Abundance fluctuations among benthic invertebrates in two pacific estuaries. Estuaries 8, 136–144 (1985). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351863
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351863