Abstract
The abundance, species composition, and distribution of amphipods were investigated in the Maryland Coastal Bays (MCBs) using macroinvertebrate and macroalgae samples collected monthly in 2012 with an epibenthic sled at 13 stations. A total of 34,779 amphipods belonging to 35 species were recorded, the most abundant of which was Dulichiella appendiculata that accounted for ~47% of the total number of amphipods collected. Deutella cf. incerta is recorded for the first time in the MCBs. The highest mean abundance of amphipods (34.8 ± 24.7SE ind m−2) and mean weight of macroalgae (12.91 ± 8.33 SE g ww m−2) were found in the northern bays, particularly in Isle of Wight, whereas the lowest mean abundance of amphipods (0.001 ± 0.001 SE ind m−2) and lowest mean weight of macroalgae (0.004 ± 0.002 SE g ww m−2) were found in southern bays especially in Newport and Chincoteague Bays, respectively. In the northern bays, Agardhiella sp. and Gracilaria sp. were the predominant macroalgae, whereas Ceramium sp. was the most abundant macroalgae in the southern bays. Positive correlations were observed between the abundances of amphipods and macroalgae, both spatially (rs = 0.93, p < 0.001) and temporally (rs = 0.82, p < 0.003), but not with other variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, water clarity). Dulichiella appendiculata was found primarily in association with Agardhiella sp. and Gracilaria sp., whereas the caprellids, Paracaprella tenuis and Caprella penantis were associated mainly with Ceramium sp. Macroalgae composition and abundance, therefore, seemed to influence the abundance, species composition and distribution of the amphipods.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adin R, Riera P (2003) Preferential food source utilization among stranded macroalgae by Talitrus saltator (amphipod, Talitridae): a stable isotopes study in the northern coast of Brittany (France). Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 56:91–98
Attrill MJ, Strong JA, Rowden AA (2000) Are macroinvertebrate communities influenced by seagrass structural complexity? Ecography 23:114–121
Barnard KH (1916) Contributions to the crustacean Fauna of South Africa 5. The Amphipoda. Ann S Afr Mus 15:105–302
Bousfield EL (1973) Shallow-water gammaridean Amphipoda of New England. Cornell University Press, Ithaca 312 pp
Bousfield EL, Chevrier A (1996) The amphipod family Oedicerotidae on the pacific coast of North America. 1. The Monoculodes & Synchelpdium generic complexes: systematics and distributional ecology. Amphipacifica 2:75 pp
Chaillou JC, Weisberg SB, Kutz FW, DeMoss TE, Mangiaracina L, Magnien R, Eskin R, Maxted J, Price K, Summers JK (1996) Assessment of the ecological condition of the Delaware & Maryland Coastal Bays. EPA/620/R-96/004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research & Development, Washington, p 118
Chesapeake Bay Program (2007) A comprehensive list of Chesapeake Bay basin species 2007. Report EPA 903R-07-004. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Annapolis
Chevreux E (1908) Sur trois nouveaux amphipodes Mediterraneens appartenant au genre Corophium Latreille. Bull Soc Zool Fr 33:69–75
Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2006) PRIMER v6: user manual and tutorial. PRIMER-E, Plymouth
Clarke KR, Warwick RN (2001) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation, 2nd edn. PRIMER-E, Plymouth
Clarke KR, Somerfield PJ, Chapman G (2006) On resemblance measures for ecological studies, including taxonomic dissimilarities and a zero-adjusted bray–Curtis coefficient for denuded assemblages. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 330:55–80
Conradi M, López-González PJ (1999) The benthic Gammaridea (Crustacea, Amphipoda) fauna of Algeciras Bay (strait of Gibraltar): distributional ecology and some biogeographical considerations. Helgol Mar Res 53:2–8
Corona A, Soto LA, Sanchez AJ (2000) Epibenthic amphipod abundance and predation efficiency of the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum (Burkenroad, 1939) in habitats with different physical complexity in a tropical estuarine system. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 253:33–48
Costa A (1853) Relazione sulla memoria del Dottor Achille Costa, di Ricerche su' Crostacei Amfipodi del Regno di Napoli. Rend Soc Borbon. Accad Sci New Ser 2:167–178
Crawford GI (1937) A review of the amphipod genus Corophium, with notes on the British species. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 21:589–629
Dana JD (1853) Crustacea. Part II. U S Explor Expedition 14:689–1618
Douglass JG, Duffy JE, Spivak AC, Richardson JP (2008) Nutrient versus consumer control of community structure in a Chesapeake Bay eelgrass habitat. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 348:71–83
Duffy JE, Hay ME (2000) Strong impacts of grazing amphipods on the organization of a benthic community. Ecol Monogr 70(2):237–263
Feeley JB, Wass ML (1971) The distribution and ecology of the Gammaridea (Crustacea: Amphipoda) of the lower Chesapeake estuaries. V.I.M.S. Spec Pap Mar Sci 2:1–58
Foster JM, Heard RW (2002) Ameroculodes miltoni, a new species of estuarine amphipod (Crustacea: malacostraca: Peracarida: Oedicerotidae) from the southeastern United States. Zootaxa 28:1–12
Foster JM, Heard RW, Knott DM (2004) Northern range extensions for Caprella scaura Templeton, 1836 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) on the Florida Gulf Coast and in South Carolina. Gulf Res Rep 16:65–69
Fox RS, Bynum KH (1975) The amphipod crustaceans of North Carolina estuarine waters. Chesap Sci 16(4):223–237
Glibert PM, Hinkle DC, Sturgis B, Jesien RV (2014) Eutrophication of a Maryland and Virginia coastal lagoon: a tipping point, ecosystem changes, and potential causes. Estuar Coasts 37(suppl):128–146
Guerra-García JM, Koonjul MS (2005) Metaprotella sandalensis (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae). A bioindicator of nutrient enrichment on coral reefs? Environ Monit Assess 104:353–367
Hacker SD, Steneck RS (1990) Habitat architecture and the abundance and body size dependent habitat selection of phytal amphipod. Ecology 71:2269–2285
Holmes SJ (1905) The Amphipoda of southern New England. Bull U S Bur Fish 24:459–529
Hoover PM, Bousfield EL (2001) The amphipod superfamily Leucothoidea on the Pacific coast of North America: family Amphilochidae: systematics and distributional ecology. Amphipacifica 3(1):3–28
Huang YM, Amsler MO, McClintock JB, Amsler CD, Baker BJ (2007) Patterns of gammarid amphipod abundance and species composition associated with dominant sub - tidal macroalgae along the western Antarctic peninsula. Polar Biol 30:1417–1430
Leach WE (1814) Crustaceology. Vol 7. In: Brewster, D. (Ed.), Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Caprellidae:383–384
LeCroy SE (2000) An illustrated identification guide to the nearshore marine and estuarine Gammaridean Amphipoda of Florida. Volume 1. Families Gammaridae, Hadziidae, Isaeidae, Melitidae and Oedicerotidae. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee Annual Report, 195 pp
LeCroy SE (2002) An illustrated identification guide to the nearshore marine and estuarine Gammaridean Amphipoda of Florida. Volume 2. Families Ampeliscidae, Amphilochidae, Ampithoidae, Aoridae, Argissidae, and Haustoriidae. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee 223 pp
LeCroy SE (2007) An illustrated identification guide to the nearshore marine and estuarine Gammaridean Amphipoda of Florida. Volume 4. Families Anamixidae, Eusiridae, Hyalellidae, Hyalidae, Iphimediidae, Ischyroceridae, Lysianassidae, Megaluropidae and Melphidippidae. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee 120 pp
Llansó RJ, Scott LC, Kelley FS (2002) National Coastal Assessment 2001 benthic community condition in Maryland’s coastal bays. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Division, Maryland, 72 p
Llansó RJ, Scott LC, Kelley FS (2003) National Coastal Assessment 2004 benthic community condition in Maryland’s coastal bays. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Division, Maryland, 72 p
Llansó RJ, Scott LC, Kelley FS (2004) National Coastal Assessment 2001 benthic community condition in Maryland’s coastal bays. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Division, Maryland, 72 p
Llansó RJ, Scott LC, Kelley FS (2005) National Coastal Assessment 2001 benthic community condition in Maryland’s coastal bays. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Division, Maryland, 72 p
Llansó RJ, Scott LC, Kelley FS (2006) National Coastal Assessment 2001 benthic community condition in Maryland’s coastal bays. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Division, Maryland, 72 p
Lowry JK (2004) A new species of Corophium from eastern Australian estuaries (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Corophiidae:Corophiinae: Corophiini). Zootaxa 754:1–10
Maxted JR, Eskin RA, Weisberg SB, Chaillou JC, Kutz FW (1997) The ecological condition of dead-end canals of the Delaware and Maryland coastal bays. Estuaries 20(2):319–327
Mayer P (1903) Die Caprelliden der Siboga-Expedition. Siboga Exped Monogr 34:1–160
McCain JC (1968) The Caprellidea (Crustacea: Amphipoda) of the western North Atlantic. Bull US Natl Mus 278:1–116
McCready S, Greely CR, Hyne RV, Birch GF, Long ER (2005) Sensitivity of an indigenous amphipod (Corophium colo) to chemical contaminants in laboratory toxicity tests conducted with sediments from Sydney Harbor, Australia, and vicinity. Environ Toxicol Chem 24(10):2545–2552
McGinty M, Wazniak C, Hall M (2004) Results of recent macroalgae surveys in the Maryland coastal bays. Chapter 6:3
Mills EL (1963) A new species of Ampelisca (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from eastern North America, with notes on other species of the genus. Can J Zool 41(6):971–989
Mills EL (1964) Ampelisca abdita, a new amphipod crustacean from eastern North America. Can J Zool 42(4):559–1575
Morales-Núñez AG, Chigbu P (2016a) A new species of Apolochus (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Gammaridea, Amphilochidae) in Maryland coastal bays, USA with notes on its abundance and distribution. ZooKeys 571:81–104
Morales-Núñez AG, Chigbu P (2016b) Life history of Dulichiella appendiculata (say, 1818) (Crustacea: Peracarida: Amphipoda) in Maryland coastal bays, USA. Aquat Biol 25:75–82
Morris L, Keough MJ (2002) Organic pollution and its effects: a short-term transplant experiment to assess the ability of biological endpoints to detect change in a soft sediment environment. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 225:109–121
Muller F (1865) Description of a new genus of amphipod Crustacea. Ann Mag Nat Hist 3(15):276–277
Murphy RF, Secor DH (2006) Fish and blue crab assemblage structure in a U.S. mid-Atlantic coastal lagoon complex. Estuar Coasts 29(6):1121–1131
Orr KK, Wilding TA, Horstmeyer L, Weigl S, Heymans JJ (2014) Detached macroalgae: its importance to inshore sandy beach fauna. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 150:125–135
Pavia H, Carr H, Aberg P (1999) Habitat and feeding preferences of crustacean mesoherbivores inhabiting the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) le Jol. and its epiphytic macroalgae. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 236:15–32
Poore AGB (1994) Selective herbivory by amphipods inhabiting the brown alga Zonaria angustata. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 107:113–123
Poore AGB, Steinberg PD (1999) Preference-performance relationships and effects of host plant choice in an herbivorous marine amphipod. Ecol Monogr 69:443–464
Reimer JD, Yang SY, White KN, Asami R, Fujita K, Hongo C, Ito S, Kawamura I, Maeda I, Mizuyama M, Obuchi M, Sakamaki T, Tachihara K, Tamura M, Tanahara A, Yamaguchi A, Jenke-Kodama H (2015) Effects of causeway construction on environment and biota of subtropical tidal flats in Okinawa, Japan. Mar Pollut Bull 94:153–167
Say T (1817) On a new genus of the Crustacea, and the species on which it is established. J Acad Nat Sci Phila 1(4):49–52
Say T (1818) An account of the Crustacea of the United States. J Acad Nat Sci Phila 1:37–401
Shoemaker CR (1934) The amphipod genus Corophium on the east coast of America. Proc Biol Soc Wash 47:23–32
Shoemaker CR (1943) A new amphipod of the genus Corophium from Florida. Charleston Mus Leafl 18:3–7
Shoemaker CR (1945) The amphipod genus Photis on the east coast of North America. Charleston Mus Leafl 22:1–17
Smith SI (1873) Crustacea, ex. Isopoda. In: Verrill AE (ed) Report upon the invertebrate animals of Vineyard Sound and adjacent waters, with an account of the physical characters of the region. Part 1. Report on the Condition of the Sea Fisheries of the South Coast of New England in 1871 and 1872. U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries, Washington, p 295−778
Taylor RB (1998) Short-term dynamics of a seaweed epifaunal assemblage. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 227:67–82
Thomas JD (1993) Biological monitoring and tropical biodiversity in marine environment: a critique with recommendations and comments on the use of amphipods as bioindicators. J Nat Hist 27:795–806
Vázquez-Luis M, Sanchez-Jerez P, Bayle-Sempere JT (2008) Changes in amphipod (Crustacea) assemblages associated with shallow-water algal habitats invaded by Caulerpa racemosa Var. cylindracea in the western Mediterranean Sea. Mar Environ Res 65:416–426
Vázquez-Luis M, Sanchez-Jerez P, Bayle-Sempere JT (2009) Comparison between amphipod assemblages associated with Caulerpa racemose var. cylindracea and those of other Mediterranean habitats on soft substrate. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 84(2):161–170
Vázquez-Luis M, Borg JA, Sanchez-Jerez P, Bayle-Sempere JT (2012) Habitat colonization by amphipods: comparison between native and alien algae. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 432−433:162–170
Watling L, Maurer D (1972) Shallow water amphipods of the Delaware Bay region. Crustaceana Suppl 3:251–266
Wazniak C, Wells D, Hall M (2004) Maryland’s Coastal Bays: Ecosystem health assessment. Pages 9–20 in Chapter 1.2: The Maryland Coastal Bays Ecosystem. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Document Number DNR-12-1202-0009
Wigley RL (1966) Two new marine amphipods from Massachusetts, U.S.a. Crustaceana 10(3):259–270
Zamzow JP, Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2010) Habitat’s choice and predator avoidance by Antarctic amphipods: the roles of algal chemistry and morphology. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 400:155–163
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by NSF CREST-CISCEP (Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology-Center for the Integrated Study of Coastal Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic Region) grant No. 1036586 and NOAA LMRCSC (Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center) grant No. NA11SEC4810002. We would like to thank Captain Christopher Daniels for his assistance in collecting the samples, as well as Wilmelie Marrero-Cruz for helping to create a map of the study area. Special thanks are due to Drs. Richard W. Heard and Sara E. LeCroy for their guidance and help with identifying amphipod species.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by P. Martinez Arbizu
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Morales-Núñez, A.G., Chigbu, P. Abundance, distribution, and species composition of amphipods associated with macroalgae from shallow waters of the Maryland Coastal Bays, USA. Mar Biodiv 49, 175–191 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0779-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0779-z