Assessing benthic habitat ecological quality using four benthic indices in the coastal waters of Sanshandao, Laizhou Bay, China

Abstract

Evaluation of the ecological quality status (EcoQs) of marine ecosystems is significant for environmental protection and management. In this study, the sensitivity/tolerance-based indices AMBI, M−AMBI and BENTIX and feeding evenness index jFD (feeding-based) were first used to assess the benthic ecological status in the coastal waters of Sanshandao, Laizhou Bay, China, which are affected by multiple anthropogenic pressures, such as shipping, fishing and aquaculture. The results showed that the macrobenthic communities were characterized by sensitive or indifferent species of AMBI ecological groups. Trophic analysis indicated that most of the sampled macrobenthos in this study are surface deposit feeders or carnivores. In general, the benthic ecological quality was “good” or “acceptable”, although the four indices showed some differences in the EcoQs classifications for a given site. The AMBI, M−AMBI and BENTIX have a significant correlation (Pearson test, p < 0.05) and relatively high agreement with each other (Kappa analysis); however, they all showed weak correlations and very low agreements with the jFD. To assess the EcoQs more accurately within similar marine ecosystems in China's coastal waters, the complementary use of different indices, especially sensitivity/tolerance-based indices, is recommended.