Revealing the influence of physicochemical parameters on the taxonomic and functional diversity of macrobenthos in hangzhou bay, China

Abstract

Different mechanisms in marine environments can have multifaceted effects on the diversity and ecology of macrobenthic communities, highlighting their significance for biodiversity monitoring and conservation efforts. We collected 59 sites in autumn (September 2021), spring (March 2022), summer (June 2022), and winter (December 2022), and calculated community diversity, functional-trait diversity, and functional trait space to examine spatial and temporal variations in the community structure of macrobenthos in Hangzhou Bay, an inlet of the East China Sea. Through Mantel tests, we investigated the relationship between taxonomic and trait beta diversity, and utilized distance-based redundancy analysis and variance partitioning to dissect the relative impacts of hydrology, sediment, and spatial distances on beta diversity. Our results revealed functional redundancy (different species exhibit similar traits) during the summer season, along with variations in trait composition across the different seasons. Notably, certain species displayed functional traits outside the functional space during both summer and winter, suggesting potential unique ecological strategies or adaptations. In dynamic environments like Hangzhou Bay, there appears to be complementarity between the taxonomic and trait beta diversity of macrobenthic communities, leading to consistent ecological niches among species and, consequently, similar functional traits. Complementarity indicates that environmental changes can select for specific biological functional traits, which in turn select for species that are suited for survival, thereby altering the community structure in the region. Results from the variance partitioning analysis indicated that spatial factors and hydrologic condition predominantly shape the community structure of macrobenthos in Hangzhou Bay.