Influence of Spartina alterniflora invasion stages on macrobenthic communities on a tidal flat in Wenzhou Bay, China

Ge, Bao-Ming; Bao, Yi-Xin; Cheng, Hong-Yi; Zhang, Dai-Zhen; Hu, Zhi-Yuan

Abstracts

Many coastal habitats in eastern China are being substantially altered by the invasion of Spartina alterniflora. The species richness, density, Margalef's diversity index (R) and Shannon's diversity index (H') of macrobenthic communities on a tidal flat in Wenzhou Bay, China, were analyzed with the factors of invasion stage and season, in 2007. A significant effect of invasion stage, season, and the interaction between them on communities was detected. The macrobenthic community was more complex in the patch of initial S. alterniflora invasion than in the patches of some other invasion stages. Macrobenthic communities were classified by cluster and ordination in accordance with the habitat character of the S. alterniflora invasion stage. Our research demonstrated that the S. alterniflora invasion stage affected the macrobenthic communities significantly. The results indicated that biodiversity increased in the initial stage of invasion (invasion age 1-2 years) and then decreased in the stage of invasion underway (invasion age 3-4 years) and in the stage of invasion completed (invasion age 5-6 years); this phenomenon was related to the change in the S. alterniflora canopy which accompanied the invasion stages.

Biodiversity; Western Pacific coast; Invasion; Benthic macrofauna; Ecosystem engineers

Muitos habitats costeiros vêm sendo alterados substancialmente pela invasão de Spartina alterniflora no leste da China. Em 2007, em uma planície de maré situada em Wenzhou Bay, foram analisadas riqueza de espécies, densidade e diversidade da macrofauna bêntica em relação a diferentes estágios da invasão da gramínea e à estação do ano. Para as medidas de diversidade foram usados os índices de Margalef (R) e de Shannon (H'). Foram detectados efeitos significativos do estágio de invasão e época do ano sobre a macrofauna. As comunidades macrofaunais foram mais complexas nas manchas onde a invasão de S. alterniflora estava no seu início, quando considerados os locais onde as manchas estavam em estágios mais avançados. Através das análises de agrupamento e ordenação as comunidades puderam ser classificadas pelo tipo de habitat formado em cada estágio de invasão da Spartina. Os resultados indicaram que a biodiversidade aumentou no estágio de invasão inicial (idade de invasão de 1 a 2 anos), mas diminuiu gradativamente com os estágios intermediário (idade de invasão de 3 a 4 anos) e completo (idade de invasão de 5 a 6 anos), mostrando assim o efeito deletério de S. alterniflora sobre a estrutura da macrofauna presente no local.

Biodiversidade; Costa Pacífica occidental; Invasão; Macrofauna bêntica; Espécies engenheiras

ALPHIN, T. D.; POSEY, M. H. Long-term trends in vegetation dominance and infaunal community composition in created marshes. Wetl. Ecol. Manag., v. 8, p. 317-325, 2000.
BAO, Y. X.; GE, B. M.; ZHENG, X.; CHENG, H. Y.; HU, Y. Z. Seasonal variation of the macrobenthic community at east tidal flat of Lingkun Island, Wenzhou Bay. Acta Hydrobiol. Sinica, v. 31, p. 437-444, 2007. (in Chinese)
BRUSATI, E.; GROSHOLZ, E. D. Native and introduced ecosystem engineers produce contrasting effects on estuarine infaunal communities. Biol. Invasions, v. 8, p. 683-695, 2006.
CLARKE, K. R.; WARWICK, R. M. Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. 2nd ed. Plymouth, UK : Primer-E, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, 2001.
CLEARY, M. B.; PENDALL, E.; EWERS, B. E. Testing sagebrush allometric relationships across three fire chronosequences in Wyoming, USA. J. Arid Environ., v. 72, p. 285-301,2008.
CROOKS, J. A.Characterizing ecosystem-level consequences of biological invasions: the role of ecosystem engineers. Oikos, v. 97, p. 153-166,2002.
DAEHLER, C. C.; STRONG, D. R. Reduced herbivore resistance in introduced smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) after a century of herbivore-free growth. Oecologia, v. 110, p. 99-108,1997.
DUNNETT, C. W. Pairwise multiple comparisons in the unequal variance case. J. Am. Stat. Assoc., v. 75, p. 796-800,1980.
GE, B.M.; BAO, Y. X.; CHENG, H. Y. Tempo-spatial variation of macrobenthic communities on a tidal flat of Wenzhou Bay, China. Rev. Biol. Mar. Oceanogr., v .46, p. 281-286, 2011.
GOGINA, M; GLOCKZIN, M.; ZETTLER, M. L.Distribution of benthic macrofaunal communities in the western Baltic Sea with regard to near-bottom environmental parameters. 1. Causal analysis. J. Mar. Syst., v. 79, p. 112-123,2010.
GREENBERG, R.; MALDONADO, J. E.; DROEGE, S.; MCDONALD, M. V. Tidal marshes: a global perspective on the evolution and conservation of their terrestrial vertebrates. BioScience,v.56, p. 675-685, 2006.
HEDGE, P.; KRIWOKEN, L. K. Evidence for effects of Spartina anglica invasion on benthic macrofauna in Little Swanport estuary, Tasmania. Austral Ecol.,v.25, p. 150-159, 2000.
JAWORSKA, N.; CHUPTLOVSKA-ANASTASOVA, A. A review of multidimensional scaling (MDS) and its utility in various psychological domains. Tutorials Quant. Meth. Psych., v. 5, p. 1-10, 2009.
JONES, C. G.; LAWTON, J. H.; SHACHAK, M. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos,v.69, p. 373-386, 1994.
LEVIN, L. A.; NEIRA, C.; GROSHOLZ, E. D. Invasive cordgrass modifies wetland trophic function. Ecology,v.87, p. 419-432,2006.
LI, Y. B.; LIANG, F. G.; YAN, L. H. Vicissitude and response of exploitation of Spartina alterniflora Loisel in tidal flat of Wenzhou coast. Mar. Environ. Sci.,v.28, p. 324-328,2009. (in Chinese with English abstract)
LU, L.; WU, R. S. S. An experimental study on recolonization and succession of marine macrobenthos in defaunated sediment. Mar. Biol.,v.136, p. 291-302, 2000.
LU, Y. J.; LI, H. L.; WANG, H. C.; ZUO, L. Q. Back silting and regulation of waterway with sand bar in strong tidal estuary. J. o Hyd. Eng.,v.36, p. 1450-1456, 2005. (in Chinese with English abstract)
LUCKENBACH, M. W.; DIAZ, R. J.; ZOBRIST, E. C.; HUTTON, C. H. Evaluation of the benthic resource value of impounded and non-impounded tidal creeks in Virginia, USA. Ocean Coast Manage., v. 14, p. 35-50, 1990.
LUI, T. H.; LEE, S. Y.; SADOVY, Y. Macrobenthos of a tidal impoundment at the Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve, Hong Kong. Hydrobiologia,v.468, 193-212,2002.
MARGALEF, D. R. Information theory in ecology. Gen. Syst.,v.3, p. 36-71, 1957.
NEIRA, C.; LEVIN, L. A.; GROSHOLZ, E. D. Benthic macrofaunal communities of three sites in San Francisco Bay invaded by hybrid Spartina, with comparison to uninvaded habitats. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. ,v.292, p. 111-126,2005.
NEIRA, C.; GROSHOLZ, E. D.; LEVIN, L. A.; BLAKE, R. Mechanisms generating modification of benthos following tidal flat invasion by a Spartina hybrid. Ecol. Appl. ,v.16, p. 1391-1404, 2006.
NEIRA, C.; LEVIN, L. A.; GROSHOLZ, E. D.; MENDOZA, G. Influence of invasive Spartina growth stages on associated macrofaunal communities. Biol. Invasions,v.9, p. 975-993, 2007.
OLBERS, J. M.; CELLIERS, L.; SCHLEYER, M. H. Zonation of benthic communities on the subtropical Aliwal Shoal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Afr. Zool.,v.44, p. 8-23, 2009.
PENNINGS, S. C.; BERTNESS, M. D. Salt marsh communities In: BERTNESS, M. D.; GAINES, S. D.; HAY, M. E. (Ed.). Marine community ecology Sunderland, Ma.,: Sinauer Associates, 2001. p. 289-316.
SHANNON, C. E.; WEAVER, W. The mathematical theory of communication Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1949.
SIMENSTAD, C. A.; THOM, R. M. Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) as an invasive halophyte in Pacific Northwest estuaries. Hortus Northwest,v.6, p. 9-12, 38-40, 1995.
STEFFENS, M.; PIEPENBURG, D.; SCHMID, M. K. Distribution and structure of macrobenthic fauna in the eastern Laptev Sea in relation to environmental factors. Polar Biol. ,v.29, p. 837-848,2006.
TALLEY, T. S.; LEVIN, L. A. Modification of sediments and macrofauna by an invasive marsh plant. Biol. Invasions,v.3, p. 51-68,2001.
WANG, Q.; AN, S. Q.; MA, Z. J.; ZHAO, B.; CHEN, J. K.; LI, B. Invasive Spartina alterniflora: biology, ecology and management. Acta Phytotaxonom. Sinica,v.44, p. 559-588, 2006. (in Chinese with English abstract)
WANG, R.; YUAN, L.; ZHANG, L. Impacts of Spartina alterniflora invasion on the benthic communities of salt marshes in the Yangtze Estuary, China. Ecol. Eng.,v.36, p. 799-806,2010.
ZAJAC, R. N. WHITLATCH, R. B. Responses of estuarine infauna to disturbance. II. Spatial and temporal variation of succession. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., v.10, p. 15-27, 1982.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
30 Oct 2012
Date of issue
Sept 2012

History

Received
14 May 2012
Accepted
11 Sept 2012
Reviewed
08 Sept 2012

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] ALPHIN, T. D.; POSEY, M. H. Long-term trends in vegetation dominance and infaunal community composition in created marshes. Wetl. Ecol. Manag., v. 8, p. 317-325, 2000.

[2] BAO, Y. X.; GE, B. M.; ZHENG, X.; CHENG, H. Y.; HU, Y. Z. Seasonal variation of the macrobenthic community at east tidal flat of Lingkun Island, Wenzhou Bay. Acta Hydrobiol. Sinica, v. 31, p. 437-444, 2007. (in Chinese)

[3] BRUSATI, E.; GROSHOLZ, E. D. Native and introduced ecosystem engineers produce contrasting effects on estuarine infaunal communities. Biol. Invasions, v. 8, p. 683-695, 2006.

[4] CLARKE, K. R.; WARWICK, R. M. Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. 2nd ed. Plymouth, UK : Primer-E, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, 2001.

[5] CLEARY, M. B.; PENDALL, E.; EWERS, B. E. Testing sagebrush allometric relationships across three fire chronosequences in Wyoming, USA. J. Arid Environ., v. 72, p. 285-301,2008.

[6] CROOKS, J. A.Characterizing ecosystem-level consequences of biological invasions: the role of ecosystem engineers. Oikos, v. 97, p. 153-166,2002.

[7] DAEHLER, C. C.; STRONG, D. R. Reduced herbivore resistance in introduced smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) after a century of herbivore-free growth. Oecologia, v. 110, p. 99-108,1997.

[8] DUNNETT, C. W. Pairwise multiple comparisons in the unequal variance case. J. Am. Stat. Assoc., v. 75, p. 796-800,1980.

[9] GE, B.M.; BAO, Y. X.; CHENG, H. Y. Tempo-spatial variation of macrobenthic communities on a tidal flat of Wenzhou Bay, China. Rev. Biol. Mar. Oceanogr., v .46, p. 281-286, 2011.

[10] GOGINA, M; GLOCKZIN, M.; ZETTLER, M. L.Distribution of benthic macrofaunal communities in the western Baltic Sea with regard to near-bottom environmental parameters. 1. Causal analysis. J. Mar. Syst., v. 79, p. 112-123,2010.

[11] GREENBERG, R.; MALDONADO, J. E.; DROEGE, S.; MCDONALD, M. V. Tidal marshes: a global perspective on the evolution and conservation of their terrestrial vertebrates. BioScience,v.56, p. 675-685, 2006.

[12] HEDGE, P.; KRIWOKEN, L. K. Evidence for effects of Spartina anglica invasion on benthic macrofauna in Little Swanport estuary, Tasmania. Austral Ecol.,v.25, p. 150-159, 2000.

[13] JAWORSKA, N.; CHUPTLOVSKA-ANASTASOVA, A. A review of multidimensional scaling (MDS) and its utility in various psychological domains. Tutorials Quant. Meth. Psych., v. 5, p. 1-10, 2009.

[14] JONES, C. G.; LAWTON, J. H.; SHACHAK, M. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos,v.69, p. 373-386, 1994.

[15] LEVIN, L. A.; NEIRA, C.; GROSHOLZ, E. D. Invasive cordgrass modifies wetland trophic function. Ecology,v.87, p. 419-432,2006.

[16] LI, Y. B.; LIANG, F. G.; YAN, L. H. Vicissitude and response of exploitation of Spartina alterniflora Loisel in tidal flat of Wenzhou coast. Mar. Environ. Sci.,v.28, p. 324-328,2009. (in Chinese with English abstract)

[17] LU, L.; WU, R. S. S. An experimental study on recolonization and succession of marine macrobenthos in defaunated sediment. Mar. Biol.,v.136, p. 291-302, 2000.

[18] LU, Y. J.; LI, H. L.; WANG, H. C.; ZUO, L. Q. Back silting and regulation of waterway with sand bar in strong tidal estuary. J. o Hyd. Eng.,v.36, p. 1450-1456, 2005. (in Chinese with English abstract)

[19] LUCKENBACH, M. W.; DIAZ, R. J.; ZOBRIST, E. C.; HUTTON, C. H. Evaluation of the benthic resource value of impounded and non-impounded tidal creeks in Virginia, USA. Ocean Coast Manage., v. 14, p. 35-50, 1990.

[20] LUI, T. H.; LEE, S. Y.; SADOVY, Y. Macrobenthos of a tidal impoundment at the Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve, Hong Kong. Hydrobiologia,v.468, 193-212,2002.

[21] MARGALEF, D. R. Information theory in ecology. Gen. Syst.,v.3, p. 36-71, 1957.

[22] NEIRA, C.; LEVIN, L. A.; GROSHOLZ, E. D. Benthic macrofaunal communities of three sites in San Francisco Bay invaded by hybrid Spartina, with comparison to uninvaded habitats. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. ,v.292, p. 111-126,2005.

[23] NEIRA, C.; GROSHOLZ, E. D.; LEVIN, L. A.; BLAKE, R. Mechanisms generating modification of benthos following tidal flat invasion by a Spartina hybrid. Ecol. Appl. ,v.16, p. 1391-1404, 2006.

[24] NEIRA, C.; LEVIN, L. A.; GROSHOLZ, E. D.; MENDOZA, G. Influence of invasive Spartina growth stages on associated macrofaunal communities. Biol. Invasions,v.9, p. 975-993, 2007.

[25] OLBERS, J. M.; CELLIERS, L.; SCHLEYER, M. H. Zonation of benthic communities on the subtropical Aliwal Shoal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Afr. Zool.,v.44, p. 8-23, 2009.

[26] PENNINGS, S. C.; BERTNESS, M. D. Salt marsh communities In: BERTNESS, M. D.; GAINES, S. D.; HAY, M. E. (Ed.). Marine community ecology Sunderland, Ma.,: Sinauer Associates, 2001. p. 289-316.

[27] SHANNON, C. E.; WEAVER, W. The mathematical theory of communication Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1949.

[28] SIMENSTAD, C. A.; THOM, R. M. Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) as an invasive halophyte in Pacific Northwest estuaries. Hortus Northwest,v.6, p. 9-12, 38-40, 1995.

[29] STEFFENS, M.; PIEPENBURG, D.; SCHMID, M. K. Distribution and structure of macrobenthic fauna in the eastern Laptev Sea in relation to environmental factors. Polar Biol. ,v.29, p. 837-848,2006.

[30] TALLEY, T. S.; LEVIN, L. A. Modification of sediments and macrofauna by an invasive marsh plant. Biol. Invasions,v.3, p. 51-68,2001.

[31] WANG, Q.; AN, S. Q.; MA, Z. J.; ZHAO, B.; CHEN, J. K.; LI, B. Invasive Spartina alterniflora: biology, ecology and management. Acta Phytotaxonom. Sinica,v.44, p. 559-588, 2006. (in Chinese with English abstract)

[32] WANG, R.; YUAN, L.; ZHANG, L. Impacts of Spartina alterniflora invasion on the benthic communities of salt marshes in the Yangtze Estuary, China. Ecol. Eng.,v.36, p. 799-806,2010.

[33] ZAJAC, R. N. WHITLATCH, R. B. Responses of estuarine infauna to disturbance. II. Spatial and temporal variation of succession. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., v.10, p. 15-27, 1982.

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Influence of Spartina alterniflora invasion stages on macrobenthic communities on a tidal flat in Wenzhou Bay, China

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