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Community Structure and Abundance of Benthic Infaunal Invertebrates in Maine Fringing Marsh Ecosystems

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Abstract

Fringing marshes are abundant ecosystems that dominate the New England coastline. Despite their abundance, very little baseline data is available from them and few studies have documented the ecosystems services that they provide. This information is important for conservation efforts as well as for an increased understanding of how fringing marshes function compared to larger marsh meadow systems. Benthic infaunal invertebrates were sampled from cores collected from Spartina alterniflora-dominated low marsh, Spartina patens-dominated high marsh, and Phragmites australis-invaded high marsh zones of nine fringing marsh ecosystems in Casco Bay, Maine, USA. Infaunal densities and biomass were generally higher in low marsh than high marsh or P. australis cores. Invertebrate community structure was significantly different between low marsh and high marsh and P. australis cores, which was attributed to significantly higher pore water salinity, lower organic matter, total plant percent cover, and S. patens cover in low marsh zones. There were no differences in invertebrate densities, biomass, or community structure when high marsh and P. australis cores were compared. Invertebrate densities and community structure were dominated by oligochaetes in all zones. Oligochaetes were also an important component of infaunal biomass, but the less abundant and larger invertebrates such as green crabs, tanaids, and bivalves were also large contributors to biomass in the low marsh zone. Low marsh invertebrate communities were characterized by significantly higher densities of nematodes, Nereis virens, an unidentified oligochaete, the bivalves Gemma gemma and Mya arenaria, and Leptochelia rapax. High marsh invertebrate communities were characterized by higher densities of insects, specifically Culicoides sp. ceratopogonid larvae and Anurida maritima, as well as an unidentified species of mite. Our results revealed a diverse and abundant infaunal invertebrate community that likely supports similar ecosystem services in fringing marshes as invertebrates in larger marsh meadows.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Lindsey Whitlow, Sue Smith, Tin Smith, Andrea Leonard, Cayce Dalton, Jim Dochterman, Scott Orringer, Elizabeth Wilson, Lexi Weintraub, and Eric Brazer for their invaluable lab and field assistance. Erno Bonnebocker provided assistance with site selection. The funding for this project was provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency and by the G. Ford Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve Postdoctoral Fellowship. The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry in Hilo, Hawaii, supported R.A.M. while working on this manuscript

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  1. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, 60 Nowelo St, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA

    Richard A. MacKenzie

  2. Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, 90 Laudholm Farm Rd, Wells, ME, 04090, USA

    Michele Dionne, Jeremy Miller & Michael Haas

  3. University of New England, Biddeford, ME, 04005, USA

    Pamela A. Morgan

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  1. Richard A. MacKenzie
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Correspondence to Richard A. MacKenzie.

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Communicated by Wayne S. Gardner

Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 3 Average elevations (elev.) (±1 SE) and areas of the nine fringing marshes (site name abbreviation)
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Appendix 2

Table 4 Average (±1 SE) invertebrate densities (no/m2) from cores taken in 2002 from the high, low, and P. australis-invaded marshes
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Appendix 3

Table 5 Average (±1 SE) invertebrate densities (no/m2) from cores taken in 2003 from the high, low, and P. australis-invaded marshes
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MacKenzie, R.A., Dionne, M., Miller, J. et al. Community Structure and Abundance of Benthic Infaunal Invertebrates in Maine Fringing Marsh Ecosystems. Estuaries and Coasts 38, 1317–1334 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-9977-8

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