Bioassessment of a Northwest Florida Estuary Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates. (31st October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nestlerode, Janet A; Murrell, Michael C; Hagy, James D; Harwell, Linda; Lisa, Jessica A
• Is Part Of: Integrated environmental assessment and management. Volume 16:Number 2(2020)
• Page Start: 245
• Page End: 256
• Publication Date: 2019-10-31
• Subjects: Estuary -- Macrofauna -- Sediments -- Benthic index -- Bioassessment; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Periodicals; Environmental toxicology -- Periodicals; Environmental risk assessment -- Periodicals; Environmental impact analysis -- Periodicals; 628
• DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4209
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1551-3777

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Benthic invertebrate community composition was surveyed across the salinity gradient of the Pensacola Bay Estuary in Florida during summer 2016. Macrofauna densities ranged from 1000 to 9300 individuals m −2, with highest densities occurring at the upper estuary and the lowest in the mid‐ and lower estuary. Taxonomic richness and Shannon diversity were lowest in the upper estuary and increased along the salinity gradient. Small‐bodied, near‐surface infaunal polychaete species (e.g., Mediomastus ambiseta and Paraprionospio alata) dominated the macrofaunal community in fine sediment areas. We calculated the Gulf of Mexico Benthic Index of Biological Integrity for each site and compared the index scores with those from Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program ‐ Estuaries, an earlier benthic assessment model. Condition evaluations by the different models did not match across all sites in this study; however, scores consistently indicated that most sites were at or near degraded levels, implying that Pensacola Bay represents a marginal habitat for a "healthy" benthic macrofauna community. This study provided new information about the benthic communities and sediments in the Pensacola Bay estuary. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:245–256. Published 2019. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. KEY POINTS: Study describes benthic communities in the Pensacola Bay system, in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), and evaluates habitat condition using 2 benthic index approaches, i.e., GOM Benthic Index of Biological Integrity (B‐IBI) and Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program ‐ Estuaries (EMAP‐E). Results of this study suggest that more systematic testing and reference site assessments are needed to make the GOM B‐IBI more useful for environmental management applications, particularly for high‐salinity regions of northern Florida estuaries with muddy sediments. Until the GOM B‐IBI can be refined to include panhandle‐specific metrics, the EMAP‐E index may be the most appropriate model for assessing the benthic habitat condition in this region.