Composition of the Epifaunal Community Associated with the Seagrass Zostera marina in San Quintin Bay, Baja California

Abstract

The epifaunal community associated with eelgrass beds in San Quintin Bay, Baja California, Mexico, was studied from April to November 1993. Taxonomic identification, univariate community descriptors, and biomass data were obtained for each sample. Multivariate analyses of community composition were also performed, and plant-animal relationships were analyzed. The epifaunal community was characterized by the high abundance of a few dominant species, with the mollusk Assiminea dubiosa representing 70% of the total abundance. Summer samples had the highest similarity, as indicated by the Analysis of Similarity (ANOSIM) test. Polychaetes and amphipod abundances seemed to follow the variations in eelgrass aboveground biomass.

Spatial patterns of epifaunal communities in San Francisco Bay eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds

“…Epifaunal communities can play important roles in the functioning of seagrass beds (Kikuchi 1974;Edgar & Shaw 1995;Duffy et al 2001) but were poorly known previously for San Francisco Bay. The epifaunal community in San Francisco Bay eelgrass beds is characterized by a high abundance of a few dominant species, similar to a study conducted off the coast of Baja California (Quiroz-Vazquez et al 2005). Additionally, we documented exceptionally high numbers of individuals, and the range of epifauna total abundance across all time periods and sites (24-24,923 individuals per m 2 ) was much wider than expected from previous studies, although referenced studies varied in sampling techniques and time periods.…”

“…2001) but were poorly known previously for San Francisco Bay. The epifaunal community in San Francisco Bay eelgrass beds is characterized by a high abundance of a few dominant species, similar to a study conducted off the coast of Baja California (Quiroz‐Vazquez et al. 2005).…”

“…Consistent with findings from the Mediterranean Sea by Connolly & Butler (1996, for Cymodeocea nodosa ), Arroyo et al. (2006, for Z. marina ) and Quiroz‐Vazquez et al. (2005, for Z. marina ), we further hypothesized that epifaunal species richness and abundance would peak when eelgrass shoots are the largest and when flowering shoots are the most developed; in theory, refuge space and food availability should be maximized during this time period.…”

Spatial variation in abundance and diversity of the smaller surface and near‐surface eelgrass‐associated intertidal macrobenthos within a warm‐temperate estuarine bay in the Garden Route National Park, RSA

“…Nevertheless it does appear to be the case that low latitude seagrass meadows are often dominated by polychaetes, amphipods and decapod crustaceans (Klumpp and Kwak, 2005;Barrio Froja´n et al, 2006) while overwhelming dominance by rissooidean microgastropods is usually only a feature of high latitudes (Barnes, 2010), although it has been described as low as 301 in the Baia California (Quiroz-Vazquez et al, 2005). In high latitudes there is then a further dichotomy in that it is specifically sheltered and/or brackish localities that seem typically to be microgastropod (and, often in and adjacent to the Atlantic, hydrobiid-) dominated whereas more exposed, oceanic meadows have a mainly polychaete fauna (Blanchet et al, 2004).…”

Top-down and bottom-up stabilizing mechanisms in eelgrass meadows differentially affected by coastal upwelling

“…Epifaunal abundance and diversity are positively related to eelgrass aboveground biomass and peak during late summer. The amphipods Erichtonius brasiliensis and Hyale frequens and the polychaete Platynereis bicanaliculata form a distinctive group of species clearly linked to the presence of Z. marina (Quiroz-Vázquez et al 2005, and references therein). Most previous studies of eelgrass and its associated species in the region were based on the analysis of single meadows within the Bahía Falsa arm.…”