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Comparison of meiofaunal abundance in two mangrove wetlands in Tong’an Bay, Xiamen, China

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Abstract

To compare meiofaunal community in the two mangrove wetlands in Tong’an Bay, Xiamen, China, and probe the response of meiofauna to high organic matter, sampling was carried out in Fenglin and Xiang’an mangrove wetlands in the bay. The results showed that the Ne/Co ratio (nematode to benthic copepod) and organic matter in Fenglin mangrove wetland were higher than those in Xiang’an mangrove wetland. The meiofaunal abundance in Fenglin mangrove was all lower than that in Xiang’an mangrove wetland in summer, autumn and spring, while the meiofaunal abundance in Fenglin mangrove was higher than that in Xiang’an mangrove wetland in winter. Two-way ANOVA results showed that the meiofaunal abundance and nematode abundance were significantly different between regions, seasons and region×season. With all the results in the present study, we confirmed that the positive response of meiofaunal and nematode abundance were only detected for medium organic matter contents according to the Xiang’an wetland’s level, and that the distribution of meiofaunal abundance would be influenced by sand content. Higher copepod abundance and lower N/C value usually suggest better environmental quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Zhangzhou, 363105, P. R. China

    Xiping Zhou

  2. Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, P. R. China

    Lizhe Cai & Sujing Fu

  3. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, P. R. China

    Lizhe Cai & Sujing Fu

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  1. Xiping Zhou
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  2. Lizhe Cai
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Correspondence to Lizhe Cai.

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Zhou, X., Cai, L. & Fu, S. Comparison of meiofaunal abundance in two mangrove wetlands in Tong’an Bay, Xiamen, China. J. Ocean Univ. China 14, 816–822 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-015-2642-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-015-2642-9

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