Seasonal changes in interstitial salinities and seasonal movements of subtidal benthic invertebrates in the Fraser River estuary, B.C.

Abstract

The subtidal benthic fauna of the lower Fraser River, a salt-wedge estuary, was sampled monthly from June 1977 to August 1978 in mud substrates at six stations ranging from oligohaline to polyhaline. Subtidal interstitial salinities were also measured and were related to the seasonal distribution of the estuarine benthic fauna. Interstitial salinities of silty sediments do not vary diurnally, but the transition zone between salt and fresh interstitial water is cyclically shifted up- and downstream in relation to freshwater discharge, leading to seasonal shifts in the distribution of benthic infaunal species. Seasonal shifts are shown to occur in the oligochaetes Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Tubifex tubifex, Tubificoides gabriellae, Paranais litoralis, Specaria fraseri, Nais communis and Nais elinguis , and of the polychaetes Eteone longa, Amphicteis sp. and Polydora kempi japonica . These species comprised over 25% of the total taxa collected and over 60% of the individuals collected. The data on other species distributions do not conflict with the hypothesis of cyclic changes related to seasonal interstitial salinities. The changes vary in extent in relation to runoff, and appear to be a feature of salt-wedge estuaries in general.