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BENTHIC MACROFAUNA AND HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS IN TILLAMOOK BAY
Citation:
Ferraro, S P. AND F A. Cole. BENTHIC MACROFAUNA AND HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS IN TILLAMOOK BAY. Presented at Tillamook County Estuary Partnership "State of the Bay" Conference, Rockaway Beach, OR, September 19-20, 2002.
Description:
Tillamook Bay is subject to natural and man-made stressors, such as increased nutrients and sediments, which can alter its habitats and, thereby, impact its productivity and ecological resources. The benthic macrofauna are small, sediment-dwelling invertebrates which have strong habitat affinities and are an important component of the estuarine foodweb. In 1999, U.S. EPA conducted a field study in Tillamook Bay to determine benthic macrofauna-habitat relationships among its eight major habitats: (1) eelgrass (Zostera marina); (2) Japanese eelgrass (Zostera japonica), (3) mud shrimp (Upogebia pugettensis); (4) ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis); (5) ground oyster culture; (6) mud; (7) sand; and (8) subtidal. The eight habitats varied by a factor of 3.5 in the average number of macrofaunal species (S), by a factor of 70 in the average abundance of macrofaunal individuals (A), and by a factor of 14 in the average biomass of macrofauna (B). In general, the rank order (high to low) of the habitats in terms of S, A, and B was: Japanese eelgrass, oyster, mud shrimp, eelgrass, mud, ghost shrimp, sand, and subtidal. Stressors which increase the areal extent of the lower ranked habitats at the expense of the higher ranked habitats can be expected to have a negative overall effect on the benthic macrofauna and on the fish, crabs, and birds which rely on them for food.