BIODIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES ON THE XIAOMIAOHONG OYSTER REEF IN JIANGSU PROVINCE, CHINA
江苏小庙洪牡蛎礁大型底栖动物多样性及群落结构

Based on the ecological monitoring data in the spring of 2011, the study firstly determined the biodiversity and community structure of resident benthic macroinvertebrates on a natural and intertidal oyster reef located in Jiangsu Province, China. Three oyster species, kumamoto oyster (Crassostrea sikamea), Suminoe oyster (Crassostrea ariakensis) and Asian Milin oyster (Ostrea denselamellosa), were identified to coexist on the intertidal reef based on 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. The kumamoto oyster was the only species that formed the complex, three-dimensional reef structure in the intertidal zone. The mean abundance and biomass of the oyster were (2199±363)ind/m2 and (12361±1645)g/m2, respectively. A total of 66 resident benthic macroinvertebrate species (exclusive of three oyster species) were recorded on the natural reef, representing 6 phyla and 43 families and holding the mean density of (2830±182)ind/m2 and the mean biomass of (499.59±35.41)g/m2. Density and biomass of resident benthic macroinvertebrates were significantly higher on the natural oyster reef than over the intertidal density (102±29)ind/m2; biomass (53.10±22.80)g/m2] or subtidal density (140±60)ind/m2; biomass (43.23±22.37)g/m2] mudflat (P<0.001).