Classification and distribution characteristics of benthic macroinvertebrate functional groups in the saline algae zone of chongming dongtan

Based on the surveys on benthic macroinvertebrates in the saline algae zone of Chongming Dongtan, three different types of functional group were classified according to feeding habits, life forms and traditional taxonomic characteristics. Then the compositions and spatial-temporal distribution characteristics of the functional groups were analyzed. Total 19 species were recorded during the surveys. The dominant species (/R/>20) were all from Bivalvia. The results proved that the compositions of the functional groups had obvious spatial and temporal variation characteristics. For a specific functional group and the corresponding total functional groups, the variations of spatial distribution appeared to be more significant than those of temporal distribution. The spatial-temporal distribution characteristics of the total functional groups varied with the classification types. The density and the number of species of the total life-form functional groups showed the most significant spatial-temporal variations, while the total feeding-habit functional groups appeared to have the least. To the parameters of a specific functional group, the epifauna of the life-form functional group proved to have the most significant spatial-temporal variation characteristics. It seems that the different functional group classifications focus on the different aspects of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities; further studies may be needed to combine them together to reflect the integral information of the system.