Spatial and temporal variation in nearshore macrofaunal community structure in a seasonally hypoxic estuary

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 520:67-83 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11105 Spatial and temporal variation in nearshore macrofaunal community structure in a seasonally hypoxic estuary Halley E. Froehlich1,*, Shannon M. Hennessey1, Timothy E. Essington1, Anne H. Beaudreau1,3, Phillip S. Levin2 1School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA 2National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington 98112, USA 3Present address: School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, Alaska 99801, USA *Corresponding author: hefroehl@uw.edu ABSTRACT: Low dissolved oxygen (DO), or hypoxia, has emerged as a key threat to marine and estuarine ecosystems worldwide. While deep, offshore severe hypoxia (<2 mg l-1) can cause mortality, the non-lethal impact of lower DO on the shallow nearshore (≤30 m) community is not well understood, despite the importance of the habitat for numerous species. We evaluated the sub-lethal influence of hypoxia on the nearshore, subtidal community of Hood Canal, Washington, USA, a seasonally hypoxic estuary. We compared 2 regions (southern impacted and northern reference) by using underwater monitoring to record weekly videos of benthic mobile species at transects at 3 depths (10, 20, and 30 m). We found the community composition was significantly different between the 2 regions; the south was primarily composed of hypoxia-tolerant invertebrates and fewer fish species compared to the northern site. Relative to other predictors, DO performed moderately well in describing the occurrence of the most abundant species. Additionally, tolerant species displayed almost a 3-fold increase in presence below a mean (±SE) DO tolerance threshold of 3.77 ± 0.27 mg l-1, while more sensitive species declined. The magnitude in change towards more tolerant species was also greater in the south. Ultimately, comparing our findings to long-term DO trends in Hood Canal revealed the potential for a more persistent low DO state in the southern reaches. This study provides insight into the complex regional differences in community structure and potential sensitivity of nearshore communities to other perturbations in estuarine systems. KEY WORDS: Hypoxia · Estuary · Nearshore community · Physiological tolerance · Hood Canal Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Froehlich HE, Hennessey SM, Essington TE, Beaudreau AH, Levin PS (2015) Spatial and temporal variation in nearshore macrofaunal community structure in a seasonally hypoxic estuary. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 520:67-83. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11105 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 520. Online publication date: February 03, 2015 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2015 Inter-Research.