Community Structure and Health Assessment of Macrobenthic Assemblages during Spring and Summer in the Shellfish Farming Ground of Wonmun Bay, on the Southern Coast of Korea

This study investigated the community structure and health assessment of macrobenthic assemblages in Wonmun Bay, in the southern coast of Korea. The total number of species and mean density were 170 species and $1,269\;indivuduals/m^2$, respectively. The major dominant species were the bivalve Theora fragilis ($230{\pm}446\;indivuduals/m^2$) and the polychaetes Lumbrineris longifolia ($180{\pm}339\;indivuduals/m^2$), Sigambra tentaculata ($124{\pm}153\;indivuduals/m^2$), Paraprionospio patiens ($104{\pm}293\;indivuduals/m^2$) and Capitella capitata ($82{\pm}223\;indivuduals/m^2$). Community statistics [cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimentional scaling (NMDS) ordination] revealed that the macrobenthic community structure in the study area was classified into three station groups for both seasons. Several biotic indices based on macrobenthic communities have been developed to assess the ecological quality of coastal ecosystems. In this study, the ecological status was assessed by four biotic indices Shannon's H', the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), multivariate-AMBI (M-AMBI) and the Ecological Conservation Index (ECI). The ecological statuses of the macrobenthic communities in Wonmun Bay were poorer in the summer than in the spring. The results of the present study indicate that three biotic indices ( i.e.; Shannon's H', M-AMBI and ECI ) were better correlated with bottom dissolved oxygen than the AMBI in Wonmun Bay.

원문만 패류양식어장에 서식하는 대형저서동물의 춘계와 하계의 군집구조 및 건강도 평가