Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Anthropogenic impacts on hyperbenthos in the coastal waters of Sishili Bay, Yellow Sea

  • Coastal biotechnology: Reshaping biosphere along coastal line
  • Published:
Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A survey on the hyperbenthic communities was carried out in the coastal waters of Sishili Bay in the Yellow Sea in July 2009, to investigate the impact of putative anthropogenic activities related to the presence of a sewage outfall, a harbor and an aquaculture site on the benthic ecosystem. An Agassiz net trawl was used to collect hyperbenthos at 10 sampling stations. Species, diversity, abundance, and biomass were analyzed against water sample data and historical data obtained from records from nearby Yantai City. Fifty-two species were identified in the region, of which Crustacea were the most abundant taxon, followed by Echinodermata. Dominant species included five crustaceans, two echinoderms, one mollusk and one fish species. The results of a BIOENV analysis show that the concentrations of NO3-N and Chl-a were slightly positively correlated with hyperbenthic community structure, while other factors were negatively correlated, including sediment grain size and the percentage of TN and TOC in sediment. Abundance-Biomass Comparison (ABC method) curves indicate that the hyperbenthos in Sishili Bay had been disturbed by putative sources of human activities. Eight out of 10 stations were classified as “moderately perturbed” to “perturbed”.

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

References

  • Austen M C, Lambshead P T D, Hutchings P A et al. 2002. Biodiversity links above and below the marine sediment-water interface that may influence community stability. Biodivers. Conserv., 11: 113–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt A. 1993. Composition, abundance, and diversity of peracarid crustaceans on a transect of the Kolbeinsey Ridge, north of Iceland. Polar Biol., 13: 565–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt A. 1995. Peracarid fauna (Crustacea, Malacostraca) of the Northeast Water Polynya off Greenland: documenting close benthic-pelagic coupling in the Westwind Trough. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 121: 39–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y Q, Xu Z L. 1995. An ecological study on zooplankton in plume front zone of Changjiang (Yangtze) River Estuarine Area I: biomass distribution of dominant species. Journal of Fishery Sciences of China, 2(1): 49–63. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke K R, Gorley R N. 2001. Primer V5: User Manual/Tutorial. Plymouth. PRIMER-E.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke K R, Warwick R M. 2001. Changes in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. 2nd edition, PRIMER-E: Plymouth. p.8–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dauvin J C, Vallet C, Mouny P et al. 2000. Main characteristics of boundary layer macrofauna in the English Channel. Hydrobiogia, 426: 139–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Broyer C, Scailteur Y, Chapelle G et al. 2001. Diversity of epibenthic habitats of Gammaridean amphipods in the eastern Weddell Sea. Polar Biol., 24: 744–753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DelValls T A, Conradi M, Garcia-Adiego E et al. 1998. Analysis of macrobenthic community structure in relation to different environmental sources of contamination in two littoral ecosystems from the Gulf of Cádiz (SW Spain). Hydrobiologia, 385: 59–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz R J, Rosenberg R. 1995. Marine benthic hypoxia: a review of its ecological effects and the behavioral responses of benthic macrofauna. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol., 33: 245–303.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong Z, Liu D, Keesing J K. 2010. Jellyfish blooms in China: dominant species, causes and consequences. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 60: 954–963.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrara S P, Swartz R C, Cole F A, Schults D W. 1991. Temporal changes in the benthos along a pollution gradient: discriminating the effects of natural phenomena from sewage-industrial wastewater effects. Estuar. Coast. Shelf S cience, 33: 383–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrest B M, Keeley N B, Hopkins G A et al. 2009. Bivalve aquaculture in estuaries: review and synthesis of oyster cultivation effects. Aquaculture, 298: 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grey J S. 1997. Marine biodiversity: pattern, threats and conservation needs. Biodivers. Conserv., 7: 153–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han Q X, Li B, Han Q Y et al. 2011. Preliminary study of the impact of fishery trawling on epifauna community in the coastal water of Weihai Port. Marine Science Bulletin, 30(2): 121–126. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ji L, Wang R, Liu C et al. 2003. Environmental monitoring and contrast evaluation on Yantai marine dumping site. Marine Science Bulletin, 22(2): 53–59. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Li B, Wang H et al. 2007. Macrobenthic community characters of Zhubi Reef, Nansha Islands, South China Sea. Acta Zool. Sin., 53(1): 83–94. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu D, Keesing J K, Xing Q, Shi P. 2009. World’s largest macroalgal bloom caused by expansion of seaweed aquaculture in China. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 58: 888–895.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Liu Y, Zhao R et al. 2010. Analysis of the features and dynamic changes of biological community structure in the Yantai marine dumping site. Marine Science Bulletin, 29(4): 396–401. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Liu X, Xing H et al. 2006. Analysis of the water quality in the sea area of Sishili Bay of Yantai in 2003. Transactions of Oceanology and Limnology, 3: 93–97. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lohrer A M, Thrush S F, Gibbs M M. 2004. Bioturbator enhance ecosystem function through complex biogechemical interactions. Nature, 43: 1 092–1 095.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lohrer A M, Thrush S F, Hunt L et al. 2005. Rapid reworking of subtidal sediments by burrowing spatangoid urchins. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 321: 155–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu L. 2005. The relationship between soft-bottom macrobenthic communities and environmental variables in Singaporean waters. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 51: 1 034–1 040.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magni P, Como S, Montani S et al. 2006. Interlinked temporal changes in environmental conditions, chemical characteristics of sediments and macrofaunal assemblages in an estuarine intertidal sandflat (Seto Inland Sea, Japan). Mar. Biol., 149: 1 185–1 197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magni P, Micheletti S, Casu D et al. 2005. Relationships between chemical characteristics of sediments and macrofaunal communities in the Cabras lagoon (Western Mediterranean, Italy). Hydrobiologia, 550: 105–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGlathery K J, Sundback K, Anderson I C. 2007. Eutrophication in shallow coastal bays and lagoons: the role of plants in the coastal filter. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 348: 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mees J, Jones M B. 1997. The hyperbenthos. Oceanogr. M ar. Biol., 35: 221–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson T H, Rosenberg R. 1978. Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanogr. M ar. Biol., 16: 229–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • San Vicente C, Castelló J, Corbera J et al. 2007. Biodiversity and structure of the suprebenthic assemblages from South Shetland Islands and Bransfield Strait, Southern Ocean. Polar. Biol., 30: 477–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • San Vicente C, Ramos A, Gimeno A et al. 1997. Suprabenthic assemblages from South Shetland Islands and Bransfield Strait (Antarctica): preliminary observations on faunistical composition, bathymetric and near-bottom distribution. Polar Biol., 18: 415–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith C R, Austen M C, Boucher G et al. 2000. Global change and biodiversity of marine sediments: impacts and linkages across the sediment-water interface. BioScience, 50: 1 108–1 120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snelgrove P V R. 1998. The biodiversity of macrofaunal organisms in marine sediments. Biodivers. Conserv., 7: 1 123–1 132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snelgrove P V R, Austen M C, Bouche R G et al. 2000. Sediments-up and water column-down: linking biodiversity above and below the marine sediment-water interface. BioScience, 50: 1 076–1 088.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snelgrove P V R, Blackburn T H, Hutchings P A et al. 1997. The importance of marine sediment biodiversity in ecosystem processes. Ambio, 26: 578–583.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang Q. 2004. Study on Ecosystem Dynamics in Coastal Ocean. III, Atlas of the Resources and Environment in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea Ecosystem. Science Press, Beijing, China. 398 p. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Udden J A. 1914. Mechanical composition of clastic sediments. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 25: 655–744.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Xu Z, Zhou X. 1995. Animal survey in Yantai inshores. Chinese Journal of Ecology, 14(1): 6–10. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentworth C K. 1922. A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. J. Geol., 30: 377–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weston D P. 1990. Quantitative examination of macrobenthic community changes along an organic enrichment gradient. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 61: 233–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu Y, Zhang B. 1994. Ecological characters of macrobenthos in Zhifu Bay, Yantai. Marine Environmental Science, 13(3): 1–6. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ye J, Cai L, Huang R et al. 2010. Species composition of trawling mollusk in Beibu Gulf and its environmental effect. Marine Science Bulletin, 29(6): 617–622. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang F, Zhang Y, Zhang X et al. 2005. Diversity of benthic boundary layer fauna in a section of the Yellow Sea in summer. Biodiversity Science, 1: 1–11. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang R, Dong Y. 1990. Analysis of conditions of natural environment in sea areas for pollutant discharge and the study on pathways of pollutant transport in Yantai. Coastal Engineering, 6(2): 35–44. (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, CAS; Shandong Provincial Key laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes; Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, China

    Baoquan Li  (李宝泉), Dongyan Liu  (刘东艳), Qingxi Han  (韩庆喜), Yujue Wang  (王玉珏) & Zhijun Dong  (董志军)

  2. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Private Bag 5, Wembley, 6913, Australia

    John K. Keesing

  3. College of Geological Science & Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Qiao Chen  (陈桥)

Authors
  1. Baoquan Li  (李宝泉)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John K. Keesing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dongyan Liu  (刘东艳)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qingxi Han  (韩庆喜)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yujue Wang  (王玉珏)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zhijun Dong  (董志军)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Qiao Chen  (陈桥)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Baoquan Li  (李宝泉).

Additional information

Supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-Q07-04), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. NSFC41061130543), and the Science and Technology Planning Project of Shandong Province (No. 2011GGF01003).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Li, B., Keesing, J.K., Liu, D. et al. Anthropogenic impacts on hyperbenthos in the coastal waters of Sishili Bay, Yellow Sea. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 31, 1257–1267 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-013-2173-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-013-2173-4

Keyword

Search

Navigation