Littoral benthos of the Northern Baltic Sea. IV. Pattern and dynamics of macrobenthos in a sandy-bottom Zostera marina community in Tvärminne

The composition and abundance of the macroscopic biota of a sandy-bottom Zostera marina community at a depth of 3–5 m were studied in Tvärminne, S Finland, in 1968–1971. Zostera occurred contagiously and very sparsely, 6 ± 2 shoots · m⁻², ash-free dry weight (AFDW) 2 ± 1 g · m⁻² (95% confidence interval). Totals of 45 plant and 70 animal taxa were found. Fucus vesiculosus (80%) and Zostera marina (11%) dominated the plant biomass, 16.5 ± 17.8 g · m⁻² in June 1971. At this time animal density was 8540 ± 830 ind. · m⁻² (0.6-mm mesh) and AFDW 17.3 ± 5.0 g · m⁻², 80–90% of the latter consisting of Macoma baltica, Mya arenaria, Corophium volutator, Nereis diversicolor and Hydrobia spp. The same percentage of animal density was made up by Hydrobia spp., M. baltica, C. volutator and Pygospio elegans. Normal analysis by classification of the samples suggested that the community was spatially rather homogeneous in 1971. Inverse analysis, based on interspecific correlations, revealed three distributional groups of species. These groups corresponded to the compositional subdivisions suggested by normal analysis. The community was subdivided into strata characterized by (D) deposit feeders, (Z) Zostera marina and (F) Fucus vesiculosus. The periodicity of the biota in the Zostera-characterized stratum was investigated. The principal dominants, especially Fucus, Zostera and Macoma, showed no distinct seasonal or interannual differences in 1968–1971, which made the community seem very stable. Yet, the species diversity of plants varied with the abundance of filamentous algae. Animal species diversity and mean animal density reached their seasonal minima in late summer, when the parental stocks of many invertebrates were dying and the summer's offspring were often still too small to be obtained by our methods. The recruitment of many important animal species failed in 1968 as compared with the other years.