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Abstract

Coastal areas are the first marine systems being impacted by anthropogenic pollution and eutrophication. Organic matter poses a particularly negative impact on the environment due to its oxygen depleting and eutrophying effects. Shenzhen Bay mudflat contains rich organic matter. Here, we compare changes of polychaete assemblage parameters on seasonal data obtained from a Shenzhen Bay mudflat in a three-year study. The results based on the seasonal and spatial variations of polychaete species number, density and biomass, ShannonWiener diversity index, evenness index and richness index confirmed that high organic matter content impacted their distribution. A significant negative correlation between the density and biomass of Dendronereis pinnaticirris and Neanthes glandicincta and organic matter content is explained by their limited tolerance to high organic matter exposition. A significant positive correlation between the density and biomass of Namalycastis abiuma and Capitella capitata and organic matter content is explained by their preference for organically enriched environments.

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