The benthic macrofauna of the St. Lucia Estuary during the 2005 drought year

Abstract

The St. Lucia Estuary is the largest estuarine system in Africa. The estuary is part of the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, which has been declared a World Heritage Site. This ecosystem has been subjected to severe drought conditions over the last four to five years, resulting in its mouth being closed off from the ocean in June 2002 for a period of over four years. The main aim of this study was to document the effects of the prevailing drought on the macrofauna of the system, since the last work on this benthic component had been undertaken over a decade ago, during a normal-to-wet phase. Macrofauna samples together with physico-chemical data were collected at representative sites in the Narrows, and the South and North lakes in February, April, August and October 2005. The drought exerted a strong influence on the system, leading to hypersaline conditions developing in its northern regions (maximum of 126 at Hell's Gate), and to the loss of aquatic habitat. Ordinations and clustering indicated that the macrofauna of the system could generally be separated into three clusters viz. (1) the Narrows and the southern portion of South Lake, (2) the northern half of South Lake, and (3) the North Lake–False Bay complex. Multivariate correlations indicated weak relationships between macrofaunal community structure and physico-chemical parameters. The distinction in macrofaunal assemblages between these clusters was probably caused by these habitats being physically separated at the peak of the drought, with no water flow between them, thereby preventing exchange of planktonic larvae and retarding colonisation of habitats. There was a northward decline in taxonomic richness and diversity of macrofauna in the system, which correlated positively with water depth and negatively with the biomass of microphytobenthos. It is evident that the drought structured macrofauna communities primarily through its effects on water depth and habitat fragmentation. The results of this investigation provide valuable information regarding the effects of droughts on estuarine–lake systems and the possible mechanisms by which they occur.