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Seasonal distribution of macrobenthos and its relationship with environmental factors in Yellow Sea and East China Sea

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Abstract

Macrobenthos samples were collected from the Yellow and East China Seas in four seasons during 2011 to 2012. The seasonal distribution of macrobenthos and its relationship with environmental factors were analyzed. A total of 562 macrobenthic species were identified, with polychaetes and mollusks accounting for 67% of the total number of species. A similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis showed that the dominant species were bivalve mollusks in the Yellow Sea and small-sized polychaetes in the East China Sea. A two-factor analysis of variance showed significant seasonal variations in species number, density and diversity index, and significant regional differences of biomass and density. Two-factor community similarity analysis also showed significant seasonal and regional differences in macrobenthic communities. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the main environmental factors affecting the macrobenthic communities were water depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and inorganic nitrogen. The results demonstrate significant regional differences and seasonal variations in macrobenthos in the two seas. Sediment properties and water mass characteristics are speculated to be the causes of regional differences.

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Acknowledgement

We acknowledge HU Yuemei, WANG Bin, and JIN Haiyan for their assistance in the laboratory and field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    Lu Shou  (寿鹿), Yibo Liao  (廖一波), Yanbin Tang  (汤雁滨), Jianfang Chen  (陈建芳), Zhibing Jiang  (江志兵), Aigen Gao  (高爱根) & Quanzhen Chen  (陈全震)

  2. Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Marine College of Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Yibo Liao  (廖一波) & Zhibing Jiang  (江志兵)

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  1. Lu Shou  (寿鹿)
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Correspondence to Quanzhen Chen  (陈全震).

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2010CB428903), the National Marine Public Welfare Research Project of China (No. 201505004-3), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41706125), and the Scientific Research Fund of the Second Institute of Oceanography, SOA (No. JG1616)

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Shou, L., Liao, Y., Tang, Y. et al. Seasonal distribution of macrobenthos and its relationship with environmental factors in Yellow Sea and East China Sea. J. Ocean. Limnol. 36, 772–782 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-018-6271-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-018-6271-1

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