Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Some features of the macrobenthos community structure in estuary ecosystems (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea)

  • Published:
Biology Bulletin Reviews Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The main trends of structural changes in macrobenthos communities are described for the estuary ecosystems of the White Sea (Kandalaksha Bay). In the macrobenthos communities, all the major structural parameters (total density, total biomass, and species density) increased longitudinally regarding the growth of water salinity, from the brackish to the marine environment. These parameters of studied communities also increased when moving from the upper littoral to the middle and lower littoral areas (vertically), i.e., in accordance to the tide level zone. The similarity of the species composition increased from the upper to lower littoral, as well as from the brackish to the marine areas. However, the manifestation of these changes and the structural variability between them differed significantly. The number of zones characterized by different water salinity was linked to the number of zones with different species structure and resulted in high total diversity of the community. Both the size of organisms and the ABC-indices increased, from the estuary areas (brackish waters) and disturbed macrobenthos communities to the “normal” communities (pristine marine environment).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Babkov, A.I. and Golikov, A.N., Gidrobiokompleksy Belogo morya (Hydrobiological Complexes of the White Sea), Leningrad: Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, V.Ya., Production potential of the White Sea, in Issledovaniya fauny morei (Study of Marine Fauna), St. Petersburg: Zool. Inst. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2007, vols. 60 (68)

    Google Scholar 

  • Beukema, J.J., An evaluation of the ABC-method (abundance/biomass comparison) as applied to macrozoobenthic communities living on tidal flats in the Dutch Wadden Sea, Mar. Biol., 1988, vol. 99, pp. 425–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burkovskii, I.V., Strukturno-funktsional’naya organizatsiya i ustoichivost’ morskikh donnykh soobshchestv (Structure, Functions, and Stability of Marine Bottom Communities), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkovskii, I.V., Morskaya biogeotsenologiya. Organizatsiya soobshchestv i ekosistem (Marine Biogeocenology. Structure of Communities and Ecosystems), Moscow: KMK, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chertoprud, M.V., Udalov, A.A., Stolyarov, A.P., and Borisov, R.R., Diversity of macrobenthic communities in the White Sea estuaries, Oceanology (Engl. Transl.), 2004, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 845–855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craeymeersch, J.A., Applicability of the abundance/biomass comparison method to detect pollution effect on intertidal macrobenthic communities, Hydrobiol. Bull., 1991, vol. 24, pp. 133–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedorov, V.D. and Gil’manov, T.G., Ekologiya (Ecology), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grishankov, A.V. and Ninburg, E.A., Populations of the storm pollutions on the coasts of the White Sea and its suburbs, in Problemy izucheniya, ratsional’nogo ispol’zovaniya i okhrany prirodnykh resursov Belogo morya (Problems of Study, Rational Use, and Protection of the Natural Resources of the White Sea), Arkhangelsk, 1985, pp. 103–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harkantra, S.N. and Rodrigues, N.R., Environmental influences on the species diversity, biomass and population density of soft bottom macrofauna in the estuarine system of Goa, west coast of India, Indian J. Mar. Sci., 2004, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 187–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heip, C., Biota and abiotic environment in the Westeshelde estuary, Hydrobiologia, 1988, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 31–34.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jaramillo, E., Mulsows, S., Pino, M., and Figueroa, H., Subtidal benthic macrofauna in an estuary of south Chile: distribution pattern in relation to sediment types, Mar. Ecol., 1984, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 119–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khlebovich, V.V., Kriticheskaya solenost’ biologicheskikh protsessov (Critical Salinity for Biological Processes), Leningrad: Nauka, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khlebovich, V.V., Biological typology of the estuaries of the Soviet Union, Tr. Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1986, vol. 141, pp. 5–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lisitsyn, A.P., Marginal filters and biofilters of the World Ocean, in Okeanologiya na starte 21 veka (Oceanology at the Beginning of 21 Century), Moscow: Nauka, 2008, pp. 159–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchand, J. and Gascuel, D., Seasonal dynamics of the zoobenthic communities in the mesohaline zone of the Loire estuary (France), Hydrobiologia, 1988, vol. 160, no. 2, pp. 129–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLusky, D.S., Desprez, M., Elkaim, B., and Duhamel, S., The inner estuary of the Baie de Somme, Estuarine, Coastal Shelf Sci., 1994, vol. 38, pp. 313–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meire, P.M. and Dereu, J., Use of the abundance/biomass comparison method for detecting environmental stress: some considerations based on intertidal macrozoobenthos and bird communities, J. Appl. Ecol., 1990, vol. 27, pp. 703–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moens, T. and Vincx, M., Observations of the feeding ecology of estuarine nematodes, J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K., 1997, vol. 77, pp. 211–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monakov, A.V., Pitanie presnovodnykh bespozvonochnykh (Nutrition of the Freshwater Invertebrates), Moscow: Inst. Probl. Ekol. Evol., Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague, C.L. and Ley, J.A., A possible effect of salinity fluctuation on abundance and associated fauna in northeastern Florida bay, Estuaries, 1993, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 703–717.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pesenko, Yu.A., Printsipy i metody kolichestvennogo analiza v faunisticheskikh issledovaniyakh (Principles and Methods of Quantitative Assessment Used in Faunistic Studies), Moscow: Nauka, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianka, E.R., Niche overlap and diffuse competition, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 1974, vol. 71, pp. 2141–2145.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saf’yanov, G.A., Geomorfologiya morskikh beregov (Geomorphology of Marine Coasts), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, H.L., Benthic marine diversity and the stabilitytime hypothesis, Brookhaven Symp. Biol., 1969, vol. 22, pp. 71–81.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shannon, C. and Weaver, W., The Mathematical Theory of Communication, Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press, 1949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, T.A., A new method of establishing groups of equal amplitude in plant sociology based on similarity of species content and its application to analysis of the vegetation on Danish commons, Kgl. Dan. Videnskab. Selskab. Biol. Skr., 1948, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolyarov, A.P., Zonal distribution pattern of macrobenthos of the Chernaya River estuary, (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea), Zool. Zh., 1994, vol. 73, no. 4, pp. 65–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolyarov, A.P., Time-spatial structural changes of macrobenthos in the Lapshaginskii estuary, (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea), Usp. Sovrem. Biol., 2010, vol. 130, no. 3, pp. 286–295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolyarov, A.P., Prototypical model of the structure and function of estuary ecosystems of the White Sea, Usp. Sovrem. Biol., 2012, vol. 132, no. 4, pp. 354–369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolyarov, A.P. and Burkovskii, I.V., Structural modification of the estuary macrobenthos during summer (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea), Usp. Sovrem. Biol., 2004, vol. 124, no. 5, pp. 419–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolyarov, A.P. and Burkovskii, I.V., Peculiarities of structure of estuary ecosystem and functional relationships between its parts (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea), Usp. Sovrem. Biol., 2005, vol. 125, no. 6, pp. 579–592.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolyarov, A.P., Burkovskii, I.V., Chertoprud, M.V., and Udalov, A.A., Time-spatial structure of littoral macrobenthic community in an estuary (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea), Usp. Sovrem. Biol., 2002, vol. 122, no. 6, pp. 537–547.

    Google Scholar 

  • Udalov, A.A., Burkovskii, I.V., Mokievskii, V.O., Stolyarov, A.P., Mazei, Yu.A., Saburova, M.A., Chertoprud, M.V., Chertoprud, E.S., Il’inskii, V.V., Kolobov, M.Yu., and Ponomarev, S.A., Changes in the general characteristics of micro-, meio-, and macrobenthos along the salinity gradient in the White Sea estuary, Oceanology (Engl. Transl.), 2004, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 514–525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, R.M., Species size distributions in marine benthic communities, Oecologia, 1984, vol. 61, pp. 32–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, R.M., A new method for detecting pollution effects on marine macrobenthic communities, Mar. Biol., 1986, vol. 92, pp. 557–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, R.M., Pearson, R.H., and Ruswahyuni, Detection of pollution effects on marine macrobenthos: further evaluation of the species abundance/biomass method, Mar. Biol. (Heidelberg, Ger.), 1987, vol. 95, pp. 193–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    A. P. Stolyarov

Authors
  1. A. P. Stolyarov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. P. Stolyarov.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © A.P. Stolyarov, 2013, published in Uspekhi Sovremennoi Biologii, 2013, Vol. 133, No. 2, pp. 191–208.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stolyarov, A.P. Some features of the macrobenthos community structure in estuary ecosystems (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea). Biol Bull Rev 3, 505–521 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079086413060091

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079086413060091

Keywords

Search

Navigation