Anthropogenic impacts on hyperbenthos in the coastal waters of Sishili Bay, Yellow Sea

A survey on the hyperbenthic communities was carried out in the coastal waters of Sishili Bay in the Yellow Sea in July 2009, to investigate the impact of putative anthropogenic activities related to the presence of a sewage outfall, a harbor and an aquaculture site on the benthic ecosystem. An Agassiz net trawl was used to collect hyperbenthos at 10 sampling stations. Species, diversity, abundance, and biomass were analyzed against water sample data and historical data obtained from records from nearby Yantai City. Fifty-two species were identified in the region, of which Crustacea were the most abundant taxon, followed by Echinodermata. Dominant species included five crustaceans, two echinoderms, one mollusk and one fish species. The results of a BIOENV analysis show that the concentrations of NO₃-N and Chl-a were slightly positively correlated with hyperbenthic community structure, while other factors were negatively correlated, including sediment grain size and the percentage of TN and TOC in sediment. Abundance-Biomass Comparison (ABC method) curves indicate that the hyperbenthos in Sishili Bay had been disturbed by putative sources of human activities. Eight out of 10 stations were classified as "moderately perturbed" to "perturbed".