Is sediment mud content a significant predictor of macrobenthos abundance in low-mud-content tidal flats?
T. Sakamaki A B C and O. Nishimura AA Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aramaki-Aza-Aoba, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
B Present address: Transdisciplinary Research Organization for Subtropics and Island Studies, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan.
C Corresponding author. Email: takashi.sakamaki@ubc.ca
Marine and Freshwater Research 60(2) 160-167 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08173
Submitted: 6 June 2008 Accepted: 24 October 2008 Published: 20 February 2009
Abstract
Sediment mud content is a significant predictor of macrobenthos abundance in marine soft-bottom habitats. However, the mechanisms behind the non-linearity generally shown in mud–macrobenthos relationships have not been examined. The present study analysed spatial distributions of sediment properties and macrobenthos in a tidal flat system of the north-east coast of Japan and tested the hypothesis: the non-linearity of mud–macrobenthos relationship corresponds to changes in bed elevation variability and sediment cohesiveness. For two macrobenthos species studied, Nuttallia olivacea (Bivalvia) and Hediste spp. (Polychaeta), the relationships between mud content (<75 μm) and their density showed discontinuities at ~0.1% and ~20% mud contents. In stations with <0.1% mud content, the densities of both species were related positively to mud content and negatively to bed elevation variability, suggesting that mud content reflected negative effects of bed elevation variability on macrobenthos abundance. The stations where distinct changes were observed in macrobenthos densities below or above ~20% mud content were within an area where a shift between non-cohesive and cohesive sediments was found. Hence, the results of the present study support the hypothesis and also suggest that sediment mud content can be a sensitive predictor of macrobenthos abundance even within a relatively low and narrow range of mud content.
Additional keywords: benthic community, marine soft-bottom habitats, Nanakita River estuary, regression model, spatial distribution.
Acknowledgements
We thank A. Kato for sediment analysis. Thanks also to members of the Environmental Ecological Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, for their assistance with sampling and fieldwork. We acknowledge J. S. Richardson, the editor and reviewers for valuable comments on the manuscript. We also thank J. Y. T. Shum for English editing. This research was funded by Grants-in-Aid for Research and Development of Construction Technology, and the Kajima Foundation.
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