Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A benthic index of environmental condition of Gulf of Mexico estuaries

  • Published:
Estuaries Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An index was developed for estuarine macrobenthos in the Gulf of Mexico that discriminated between areas with degraded environmental conditions and areas with undegraded or reference conditions. Test sites were identified as degraded or reference based on criteria for dissolved oxygen levels, sediment toxicity tests, and sediment contamination. Discriminant analysis was used to identify a suite of measures of benthic community composition and diversity that would most successfully distinguish degraded from undegraded sites. The resultant benthic index was composed of a linear combination of three factors: the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, the proportion of total benthic abundance as tubificid oligochaetes, and the proportion of total benthic abundance as bivalve molluscs. This index was used to evaluate the spatial patterns of degraded benthic resources in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Bilyard, G. R. 1987. The value of benthic infauna in marine pollution monitoring studies, Marine Pollution Bulletin 18:581–585.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch, D. R. 1983. Implications of oxygen depletion on the continental shelf of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Coastal Ocean Pollution Assessment News 2:25–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boesch, D. F. and N. N. Rabalais. 1991. Effects of hypoxia on continental shelf benthos: Comparisons between the New York Bight and the northern Gulf of Mexico, p. 27–34. In R. V. Tyson and T. H. Pearson (eds.), Modern and Ancient Continental Shelf Anoxia. Geological Society Special Publication No. 58, Geological Society, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boesch, D. F. and R. Rosenberg. 1981. Response to stress in marine benthic communities, p. 179–200. In G. W. Barrett and R. Rosenberg (eds.), Stress Effects on Natural Ecosystems. Wiley-Interscience, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, T. P., G. M. Smillie, J. C. Anderson, and D. R. Beeson. 1990. A sensitivity analysis of nine diversity and seven similarity indices. Research Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation 62:749–762.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brinkhurst, R. O. and M. L. Simmons. 1968. The aquatic Oligochaeta of San Francisco Bay system. California Fish and Game 54:180–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, V., D. S. McLusky, K. Roddie, and D. M. Newberry 1984. Effect of temperature and salinity on the toxicity of chromium to three estuarine invertebrates (Corophium volulator, Macoma balthica, Nereis diversicolor). Marine Ecology-Progress Series 20:137–149.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, V., D. M. Newberry, D. S. McLusky, and R. Campbell. 1985. Effect of temperature and salinity on the toxicity of nickel and zinc to two estuarine invertebrates (Corophium volutator, Macoma balthica). Marine Ecology-Progress Series 24:139–153.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, P. M. 1989. Current approaches to developing sediment quality criteria. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 8:589–599.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, P. M., E. A. Power, R. N. Dexter, and H. B. Andersen. 1991. Evaluation of effects associated with an oil platform, using the sediment quality triad. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 10:407–424.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, D. G. and R. O. Brinkhurst. 1973. Marine flora and fauna of the Northeastern United States, Annelida: Oligochaeta. Technical Report NMFS CIRC-374. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flint, R. W. and R. D. Kalke. 1985. Benthos structure and function in a souty Texas estuary. Contributions in Marine Science 28:33–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flint, R. W. and R. D. Kalke. 1986. Niche characterization of dominant estuarine benthic species. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 22:657–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flint, R. W., S. Rabalais, and R. D. Kalee. 1982. Estuarine benthos and ecosystem functioning, p. 185–201. In J. R. Davis (ed.), Proceedings of the Symposium on Recent Benthological Findings in Texas and Adjacent States. Aquatic Sciences Section, Texas Academy of Science, Austin, Texas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, G. R. 1985. Effects of hypoxia on macrobenthos of the inner shelf off Cameron, Louisiana, Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 20:603–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, G. R. 1992. Effects of contaminants on macrobenthic communities in the Calcasieu River, Louisiana. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 49:922–928.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, G. R., P. A. Rutledge, and M. L. Wather. 1985. The effects of hypoxia and brine on recolonization by macrobenthos off Cameron, Louisiana (USA). Contributions in Marine Science 28:79–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, G. R. and J. C. Nasci. 1988. Trophic structure of macrobenthic communities in the Calcasieu Estuary, Louisiana. Estuaries 11:201–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, G. R., D. L. Lee, and J. C. Nasci. 1988. Estuarine macrobenthos in Calcasieu Lake, Louisiana: Community and trophic structure. Estuaries 11:192–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grizzle, R. E. 1984. Pollution indicator species of macrobenthos in a coastal lagoon, Marine Ecology-Progress Series 18:191–200.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, D. E., L. D. McKinney, R. R. Saizer, and R. J. Case. 1981. The occurrence of hypoxic bottom water off the upper Texas coast and its effects on the benthic biota. Contributions in Marine Sicence 24:53–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland, A. F., A. T. Shaughnessy, and M. H. Hiegel. 1987. Long-term variation in mesohaline Chesapeake Bay macrobenthos: Spatial and temporal patterns. Estuaries 10:227–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland, J. S., N. J. Maciolek, and C. H. Oppenheimer. 1973. Galveston Bay benthic community structure as an indicator of water quality. contributions in Marine Science 17:169–188.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Junot, J. A., M. A. Poirrier, and T. M. Soniat. 1983. Effects of salt water intrusion from the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal on the benthos of Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. Gulf Research Reports 7:247–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karr, J. R. and D. R. Dudley. 1981. Ecological perspective on water quality goals. Environmental Management 5:55–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, E. R. and L. G. Morgan. 1990. The potential for biological effects of sediment-sorbed contaminants tested in the National Status and Trends Program. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Technical Memorandum NOS OMA 52. United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Rockville, Maryland.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClusky, D. S., V. Bryant, and R. Campbell. 1986. The effects of temperature and salinity on the toxicity of heavy metals to marine and estuarine invertebrates. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review 24:481–520.

    Google Scholar 

  • McManus, J. W. and D. Pauly. 1990. Measuring ecological stress: Variations on a theme by R. M. Warwick. Marine Biology 106:305–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Messer, J. J., R. A. Linthurst, and W. S. Overton. 1991. An EPA program for monitoring ecological status and trends. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 17:67–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. L., P. M. Leonard, R. M. Hughes, J. R. Karr, P. B. Moyle, L. H. Schrader, B. A. Thompson, R. A. Daniels, K. D. Fausch, G. A. Fitzhugh, J. R. Gammon, D. B. Halliwell, P. L. Angermeier, and D. J. Orth. 1988. Regional applications of an index of biotic integrity for use in water resource management. Fisheries 13:12–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, T. H. and R. Rosenberg. 1978. Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review 16:229–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais, N. N. 1990. Biological communities of the south Texas continental shelf. American Zoologist 30:77–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rakocinski, C., R. W. Heard, T. Simons, and D. Gledhill. 1991. Macroinvertebrate associations from beaches of selected barrier islands in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Important environmental relationships. Bulletin of Marine Science 48:689–701.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reish, D. J. 1986. Benthic invertebrates as indicators of marine pollution: 35 years of study. Oceans 86 3:885–888.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, R. 1977. Benthic macrofaunal dynamics, production, and dispersion in an oxygen-deficient estuary of west Sweden. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 26:107–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rygg, B. 1986. Heavy-metal pollution and log-normal distribution of individuals among species in benthic communities. Marine Pollution Bulletin 17:31–36.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute, Inc. 1989. SAS/STAT® User's Guide, Version 6, 4th Ed., Volum 1. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, North Carolina.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summers, J. K. and V. D. Engle. 1993. Evaluation of sampling strategies to characterize dissolved oxygen conditions in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 24:219–229.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Summers, J. K., J. M. Macauley, and P. T. Heitmuller. 1991. Implementation plan for monitoring the estuarine waters of the Louisianian Province—1991. United States Environmenthl Proctection Agrency Environmental Research Laboratory. Gulf Breeze, Florida EPA/600/05-91-228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summers, J. K., J. M. Macauley, P. T. Heitmuller, V. D. Engle, A. M. Adams, and G. T. Brooks. 1992. Annual statistical summary: EMAP-E Louisianian Province—1991. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, Gulf Breeze, Florida EPA/600/X-92/069.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsutsumi, H., T. Kikuchi, M. Tanaka, T. Higashi, K. Imasaka, and M. Miyazaki. 1991. Benthic faunal succession in a cove organically polluted by fish farming. Marine Pollution Bulletin 23:23–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, R. M. 1986. A new method for detecting pollution effects on marine macrobenthic communities. Marine Biology 92:557–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, R. M. 1988. The level of taxonomic discrimination required to detect pollution effects on marine benthic communities. Marine Pollution Bulletin 19:259–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, R. M., T. H. Pearson, and Ruswahyuni. 1987. Detection of pollution effects on marine macrobenthos: Further evaluation of the species abundance/biomass method. Marine Biology 95:193–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Washington, H. G. 1984. Diversity, biotic and similarity indices: A review with special relevance to aquatic ecosystems. Water Research 18:653–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisberg, S. L., J. B. Frithsen, A. F. Holland, J. Paul, K. J. Scott, J. K. Summers, H. Wilson, R. Valente, D. Heimbuch, J. Gerritsen, S. Schimmel, and R. Latimer. 1992. EMAP-Estuaries Virginian Province 1990 Demonstration Project Report. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, Narragansett, Rhode Island. EPA/600/01-92/XXX.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, B. K. 1983. Some observations on the use of discriminant analysis in ecology. Ecology 64:1283–1291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Virginia D. Engle

    Present address: c/6 United States Environmental Protection Agency, Avanti Corporation, 1 Sabine Island Drive, 32561-5299, Gulf Breeze, Florida

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technical Resources, Inc., 1 Sabine Island Drive, 32561-5299, Gulf Breeze, Florida

    Virginia D. Engle

  2. Environmental Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, 32561-5299, Gulf Breeze, Florida

    J. Kevin Summers

  3. Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, 38677, University, Mississippi

    Gary R. Gaston

Authors
  1. Virginia D. Engle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Kevin Summers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gary R. Gaston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Contribution No. (823), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Laboratory, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze Florida 32561–5299.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Engle, V.D., Summers, J.K. & Gaston, G.R. A benthic index of environmental condition of Gulf of Mexico estuaries. Estuaries 17, 372–384 (1994). https://doi.org/10.2307/1352670

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1352670

Keywords

Search

Navigation