A Comparison of Macrofauna Communities in Different Mangrove Assemblages
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Graphical Abstract
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Abstract
The characteristics of macrofauna communities in three mangrove assemblages［Avicennia marina+Acgiceras corniculatum (MC)community, A. corniculatum (C) community and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza+A. corniculatum (GC) community］were studied in Zhanjiang Mangrove Nature Reserves during 2005 and 2006. Of the three mangrove assemblages, the macrofauna species number, density, biomass, Richness index and Shannon-Wiener index were the highest, and the Simpson dominance index was medial at MC community. However the Pielou Evenness index of MC community was slightly lower than that at C community. At C community, the number of macrofauna species obviously reduced, especially infaunal, caving and adhering life forms, and the biomass and density were the lowest. Because of the even distribution of individuals of different species, the Simpson dominance index was the lowest and the evenness index was the highest. Although the Richness index at C community was slightly lower than that at MC community, the Shannon-Wiener index was near to that at MC community. At GC community, the number of macrofauna species, especially infaunal and caving life forms, continued to decrease comparing C community, but the biomass and density increased slightly. As the distribution of individuals of different species was uneven, the Simpson dominance index was the highest and the Pielou Evenness index was the lowest. Furthermore, the Richness index dropped to the lowest. The Shannon-Wiener index also dropped accordingly to the lowest. The dominant life forms of MC were infaunal and caving, while those of C and GC community were both caving. The ratio of the GS/GSB of macrofauna communities in the three mangrove assemblages were 0.48, 0.63 and 0.80, respectively. The community structures at the same mangrove assemblages were all quite similar, with those at GC community being most similar. However, there were obvious differences among the community structures at the three different mangrove assemblages. These results implied that the different mangrove assemblages had different affects on the macrofauna communities and shed light on the macrofauna adaptation capability to specific habitats.
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