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SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC MACROFAUNAL FEEDING GUILDS AND EXOTISM AMONG HABITATS IN WILLAPA BAY, WASHINGTON, USA
Citation:
Cole, F A. AND S P. Ferraro. SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC MACROFAUNAL FEEDING GUILDS AND EXOTISM AMONG HABITATS IN WILLAPA BAY, WASHINGTON, USA. Presented at Estuarine Research Federation meeting, Seattle, WA, September 14-18, 2003.
Description:
Quantitative benthic macrofaunal ( 0.5 mm) samples were collected at 8-15 random stations in Willapa Bay, WA, USA in each of four habitats (Zostera, Spartina, Upogebia, Neotrypaea) in 1996 and in each of seven habitats (Zostera, Spartina, Upogebia, Neotrypaea, oyster, mud/sand, subtidal) in 1998. Specimens collected were identified to the lowest possible taxon, usually species, and were counted and classified by feeding guild (deposit, suspension and facultative feeders) and exotism (nonindigenous ? cryptogenic species and individuals). In two-way (habitat, year) ANOVAs, habitat was significant on all the metrics, year was significant on all the metrics except the number of deposit feeders, and habitat?year was not significant on the number of deposit feeders, significant on the number of facultative feeders, and was either marginally significant or not significant (p = 0.03-0.06) on the number of suspension feeders, nonindigenous ? cryptogenic species and individuals. These results, along with multiple comparison test results on each metric as a proportion of the total number of species or individuals collected in each habitat, suggest that, with the possible exception of deposit feeders, the feeding guilds and exotism of benthic macrofauna may be too spatially and temporally variable to accurately predict patterns of their distributions across estuarine habitats.