The Zostera Epifaunal Community in the York River, Virginia

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The invertebrate epifauna occurring onZostera marina L. in the lower York River, Virginia, was sampled with the aid of SCUBA for 14 consecutive months. A collecting station was located at each of three different water depths within a single eelgrass bed. A total of 112 invertebrate species was collected. The five most abundant non-colonial species (Bittium varium, Paracerceis caudata, Crepidula convexa, Ampithoe longimana andErichsonella attenuata) accounted for approximately 59% of the total fauna. These species dominated the epifauna throughout most of the year. Several other species, includingBalanus improvisus, Molgula manhattensis, Polydora ligni and Ercolania fuscata, were abundant for only brief periods. A relatively high average index of affinity (58%) between all synchronous sample pairs indicated a generally homogeneous fauna, although several species were differentially distributed with depth. Exfoliation ofZostera after June caused a steady decline in plant biomass, but the abundance of epifauna continued to increase into the summer and fall. Lowest total numbers and species counts occurred in February and early March. Diversity values (H′) ranged from 1.92 to 3.90 bits/individual and averaged 3.04 bits/individual for all stations. High species numbers in summer were generally counteracted by relatively low equitabilities (ε), with H′ showing little seasonal change. The primary sources of nutrition for the epifauna appeared to be 1) plankton and suspended particulate matter, 2) detritus and microorganisms on the plant blades, and 3) epiphytic algae.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: