TheZostera epifaunal community in the York River, Virginia (original) (raw)

Abstract

The invertebrate epifauna occurring on_Zostera marina_ L. in the lower York River, Virginia, was sampled with the aid of SCUBA for 14 consecutive months. A collecting station was located at each of three different water depths within a single eelgrass bed. A total of 112 invertebrate species was collected. The five most abundant non-colonial species (Bittium varium, Paracerceis caudata, Crepidula convexa, Ampithoe longimana and_Erichsonella attenuata_) accounted for approximately 59% of the total fauna. These species dominated the epifauna throughout most of the year. Several other species, including_Balanus improvisus, Molgula manhattensis, Polydora ligni and Ercolania fuscata_, were abundant for only brief periods. A relatively high average index of affinity (58%) between all synchronous sample pairs indicated a generally homogeneous fauna, although several species were differentially distributed with depth. Exfoliation of_Zostera_ after June caused a steady decline in plant biomass, but the abundance of epifauna continued to increase into the summer and fall. Lowest total numbers and species counts occurred in February and early March. Diversity values (H′) ranged from 1.92 to 3.90 bits/individual and averaged 3.04 bits/individual for all stations. High species numbers in summer were generally counteracted by relatively low equitabilities (ε), with H′ showing little seasonal change. The primary sources of nutrition for the epifauna appeared to be 1) plankton and suspended particulate matter, 2) detritus and microorganisms on the plant blades, and 3) epiphytic algae.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 33432, Boca Raton, Florida
   G. Alex Marsh

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Virginia Institute of Marine Science Contribution No. 520. Adopted from a portion of a dissertation presented to the School of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.

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Marsh, G.A. The_Zostera_ epifaunal community in the York River, Virginia.Chesapeake Science 14, 87–96 (1973). https://doi.org/10.2307/1350873

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• Issue date: June 1973
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1350873

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