By Louise Selméus - LTH · Louise Selméus ! International Summer Water Resources Research School VVRF05 ! 7 3.1.3 Copepoda Copepoda is the second largest subclass of Crustacea and

International Summer Water Resources Research School

Dept. of Water Resources Engineering, Lund University

Benthic macrofauna and meiofauna in ecological-floating

bed and mangrove wetland in Yundang Lagoon

By

Louise Selméus

Benthic macrofauna and meiofauna in ecological-floating bed 2015-07-17 and mangrove wetland in Yundang Lagoon

Louise Selméus International Summer Water Resources Research School VVRF05

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Abstract In this report the species composition, mean density and mean biomass of meiofauna and

macrofauna have been analysed. Macrofauna and meiofauna are primary consumers, and

therefore an important link between organic matter and predators. Additionally, they are also

extra sensitive to pollution. Indication of how the marine systems have been affected by

pollution can therefore be given by studying macrofauna and meiofauna.

Samples were taken on three different locations in the Yundang Lagoon, Xiamen in southeast

China. The first location was a mangrove, the second one two ecological-floating beds and the

third one on piers and boats.

In the mangrove the dominant specie for meiofauna was Nematoda. For macrofauna

Polychaeta, Gastropoda, Brachyura and Crustacea were found. Furthermore, in the

ecological-floating beds the Polydora sp., Balanus amphitrite, Capitella capitata and

Mytilopsis sallei were the most common species. Differences in mean density and mean

biomass was found and it could be seen that the difference in the inner lake was largest. On

the other hand, the ecological-floating bed in the outer lake contained a wider range of

species. The water circulation and flow likely affected the species composition of the

ecological-floating beds. On piers and boats Mytolopsis sallei, Balanus amphitrite and

Littoraria scabra were found.

All of the results correlate with the predicted results and research. Nevertheless, these results

would have been more accurate if more data would have been studied.

Keywords: Xiamen, Meiofauna, Macrofauna, Ecological-floating bed, Mangrove



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Table of Contents

1. PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 THE COURSE VVRF05 AND THE LINGFENG SUMMER RESEARCH GROUP ............................................. 4 1.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 4 1.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................ 4

2. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 PURPOSE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 LIMITATIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

3. THEORY ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 MEIOFAUNA ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 3.2 MACROFAUNA ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 3.3 SAMPLING LOCATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 12 3.4 ECOLOGICAL-FLOATING BED ............................................................................................................................. 13 3.5 MANGROVE .............................................................................................................................................................. 14

4. METHOD ................................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1 MACROFAUNA IN ECOLOGICAL-FLOATING BED IN YUNDANG LAGOON ............................................. 14 4.2 MACROFAUNA AND MEIOFAUNA IN MANGROVE IN YUNDANG LAGOON .......................................... 15 4.3 FOULING ORGANISMS ON THE PIER AND BOATS IN YUNDANG LAGOON. ............................................ 16 4.4 MACROFAUNA ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 4.5 MEIOFAUNA ............................................................................................................................................................. 17

5. RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................... 18 5.1 MACROFAUNA IN ECOLOGICAL-FLOATING BED IN YUNDANG LAGOON ............................................. 18 5.2 MACROFAUNA AND MEIOFAUNA IN MANGROVE IN YUNDANG LAGOON .......................................... 21 5.3 FOULING ORGANISMS ON THE PIER AND BOATS IN YUNDANG LAGOON. ............................................ 23

6. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................. 23 6.1 MACROFAUNA IN ECOLOGICAL-FLOATING BED IN YUNDANG LAGOON ............................................. 23 6.2 MACROFAUNA AND MEIOFAUNA IN MANGROVE IN YUNDANG LAGOON .......................................... 23 6.3 FOULING ORGANISMS ON THE PIER AND BOATS IN YUNDANG LAGOON. ............................................ 25

7. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 25 8. REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 26 9. APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................................. 27



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1. Preface 1.1 The course VVRF05 and the Lingfeng Summer Research Group The course International Summer Water Resources Research School, VVRF05, at Lund

University (Sweden) lays as ground for this report. Eight students in the course participated in

the Lingfeng Summer Research School, where all students had different projects together with

one or two Chinese undergraduate students studying environmental science. The Lingfeng

Summer Research School took place at the College of Environment & Ecology at Xiamen

University (China) and is a unique cooperation between Xiamen University and Lund

University. The course took place between 24th of June to the 20th of July 2015 and was the

9th summer it took place.

1.2 Recommendations The opportunity to participate in the Lingfeng Summer Research School has been an

invaluable learning experience it has both been an exiting and an important experience for

me. I have met new people, make new friends and experienced the Chinese culture. To

participate in the team of the benthic lab has been learning, wonderful and I always felt very

welcomed in the group. I recommend all other student to participate in the course. It is

something you will remember your whole life.

1.3 Acknowledgements I wish to thank Professor Cai Li-Zhe, Research Assistant Wen Jun Li and my two project

partners Yajing Liu and Yiwen Lin as well as everyone in the Marine Benthic lab in the

College of Environment and Ecology at Xiamen University. I thank you all for making me feel

so warmly welcomed, your patience and care for me and for everything you have taught me. I

have learned so much in these four weeks and I wish that I could stay longer.

A special thanks goes to Associate professor Linus Zhang and the international office at Lund

University and Xiamen University for the possibility to participate in this summer school. I

hope that in the future the Chinese students will be able to visit Lund.

Additionally, I would like to thank Thyréns for valuable financial support. I hope for further

cooperation.



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2. Introduction 2.1 Problem Description

Around the world the environment of marine and freshwaters are constantly changing as a

result of pollution. One way to investigate these changes is by studying the benthic

composition, as these species are extra sensitive to pollution. The benthic species are often

called ecosystem engineers, since they have the capacity to modify the structure of soft-

bottom intertidal communities in terms of function and structure. Two examples of

modifications are that they have the ability to change water flow and nutrient fluxes of water.

These features are of critical importance and if these species would disappear the whole

ecosystem of freshwater and marine would be affected (Passarelli, 2012). The importance of

these species is due to that they are primary consumers, and therefore an important link

between organic matter and predators (Koetsu et.al. 2015).

2.2 Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the species composition of meiofauna and

macrofauna in Yundang Lagoon, in southeast China. In the study three different sampling

locations where selected: a mangrove area, two ecological-floating beds and the piers and

boats near the Yundang Lagoon. In the results we hope to be able to draw some conclusions

about the composition of species for the three different locations.

2.3 Limitations In this project three different parts of interest have been investigated.

• The composition of macrofauna in ecological-floating beds in Yundang Lagoon.

• The composition of macrofauna and meiofauna in Mangrove in Yundang Lagoon.

• The composition of fouling organisms on the pier and boats in Yundang Lagoon.



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3. Theory

3.1 Meiofauna Meiofauna are smaller benthic invertebrates that live in both marine and freshwater

environments. Meiofauna is a group of organisms that are defined by their size; they are

larger than microfauna, microscopic organisms, but smaller than macrofauna. They should be

able to pass through a 0.5-1mm mesh but be retained by a 45µm mesh (Lizhe Cai, 2015).

Below different types of meiofauna are described.

3.1.1 Annelida The body of Annelida is divided into metameres with true coelom and mostly with setae and

parapodia. Additionally, they have a closed vascular system. Oligochaeta and Polychaeta are

two subclasses of Annelida (Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [1]).

3.1.1.1 Oligochaeta

The head of the Oligochaeta is poorly developed and it has no parapodia. It has setae on the

body wall and reproductive tubules. Most of them are found in freshwater or in soil on land.

(Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [1]). The length of the Oligochaeta is around 2mm (Lizhe Cai,

2015).

3.1.1.2 Polychaeta

Polychaeta has a well-developed head with prostomium on the dorsal side. Additionally, they

have two pairs of eyes and a pair of tentacles. They have parapodia, satae and are unisexual.

Most are living in marine habitats with a benthic mode of life (Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [1]).

3.1.2 Nematoda

Nematoda usually dominate each sample of meiofauna both in abundance and biomass. They

are frequently occurring in polluted environments. Additionally, they are also valuable tools

for pollution studies since they often have specific reactions to single pollutants (Cai, 2015).

The body of Nematoda are slender, cylindrical or thread-like. The body surface is covered

with a layer of cuticle. Furthermore, they live both in marine, freshwater and soil habitats

(Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [1]).



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3.1.3 Copepoda

Copepoda is the second largest subclass of Crustacea and more than 10 000 different types of

Copepoda has been recorded. They can both be found in freshwater and marine, but is most

common in marine. They are planktonic, parasitic or benthic. They are usually round in shape

with appendage. (Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [2]). Aside from Nematoda, Copepoda are usually

the most abundant meiobenthic animals in marine samples (Cai, 2015).

3.1.4 Amphipoda Amphipoda is a subclass to Crustacea, it is flat on the sides and usually live in marine

systems but can also be found in freshwater and on land. (Zongguo and Mao, 2012 [2]).

3.1.5 Turbellaria

It is a type of flatworm that is typically a monolayer ciliated epithelium made up of distinct

cells. The class Turbellaria consist of at least 5 000 species and are usually small, flat and

oval. Additionally, they can live in both marine and freshwater (Jennings 1992).

3.1.6 Ophiuroidea The class Ophiuroidea is closely related to the class Asteroidea e.g. starfish. The arms of the

Ophiuroidea are cylindrical and always sharped ligatured.

Figure 1 the picture to the left is Nematoda and to the right is Copepoda



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Furthermore, they lack holdfast and instead have limestone plates. Additionally, they lack

anus and eyes (Zongguo and Mao, 2012 [2]).

3.2 Macrofauna Macrofauna are benthic or soil organisms that are usually collected using 0.5 or 1 mm mesh

screens. They are living in marine and freshwater environments, for example Mytilopsis Sallei

(Cai, 2015). Below are a few different types of macrofauna described.

3.2.1 Mytilopsis Sallei Mytilopsis Sallei, the black striped mussel, belongs to the class Bivalvia. It has a body that is

laterally compressed with right and left valves. Additionally, the head is reduced and the foot

is well developed.

They may burrow in sediments, attach to hard surface or they can bore in a substrate.

Furthermore, they can both live in marine and freshwater environments. (Zongguo and Mao,

2012, [3]).

3.2.2 Balanus amphitrite

Balunus amphitrite is a type of barnacle that is often referred to as a fouling organism. They

are living on different surfaces such as plants, piers etc. (Han Z et.al, 2013).

3.2.3 Gastropoda

Gastropoda are usually called snails. Characteristics of this class are that the body is clearly

differentiated into head, body and viscera. The head is well developed with head and tentacles

and the foot is on the ventral side of the body. Gastropoda can be found in freshwater, marine

and on land. They are important aquaculture species and widely used in pharmaceuticals in

China. Littoraria Melanostoma, Littoraria scabra and Bullacta exarata are three examples

of Gastropoda. The specie Bullacta exarata is a common specie in China (Zongguo and Mao,

2012, [3]).



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3.2.4 Polychaeta

3.2.4.1 Capitella Capitata

Capitella capitata belongs to the class Polychaeta and inhabits marine and estuarine

sediments. It is specie that often dominates the fauna in polluted environments. They are

commonly used as bio indicators of disturbed marine habitats. (Du Hongwei et al. 2007)

3.2.4.2 Polydora sp.

Polydora sp. belongs to the class Polychaeta. The head of the Polydora sp. is formed from the

prostomium and varies considerably in shape. The prostomium is usually narrow and

ellipsoidal resting on top of the peristomium. The tip of the prostomium may be rounded or

pointed and expanded to form “horns”. Additionally, the Polydora sp. has two long antennas

(Pleijel and Rouse, 2001). Additionally, Polydora sp. is pollution resistance specie and

therefore often dominates polluted area (Cai L.Z, 2012).

Figure 3 the left picture show Capitella capitata and the right picture shows Polydora sp.

Figure 2 The left picture is Balanus Amphitrite and to the right Littoraria scabra



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3.2.4.3 Sabellidae Latreille

Sabellidae is one of the most easily recognizeable of Polychaeta groups in their possession of

a spectacularly colourful radiolar crown and by the mucus/ parchment/ sediment tubes that

they inhabit. They are often called the “flowers of the sea” due to their spectacular crown

(Pleijel and Rouse, 2001). Potamilla sp. is a type of specie that belongs to this subclass. It is a

typical type of ringworm (Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [2]). 3.2.4.4 Melinna sp.

Melinna sp. is a type of specie that also belongs to the class Polychaeta. It is a member of the

family Ampharetidae and is a type of ringworm (Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [2]). 3.2.4.5 Nereididae

Nereididae is a subclass to Polychaeta and it is a flatworms with a lot of fur. It usually live in

marine systems and are found in sand or mud. Additionally, they have been found in

freshwaters close to marine systems. They are an important food source for shore birds. One

example of a Nereididae is the specie Nereis sp. (Pleijel and Rouse, 2001).

Figure 4 the left picture show Melinna sp. and the right picture shows Nereididae

3.2.5 Brachyura The subclass Brachyura consists of true crabs and belongs to the class Crustacea. The most

advanced group is the Decapods, which all of the three different types of crabs below belongs

to. Decapod typically lives in mangrove. They are recognized since the carapace is formed

from the fusion between head and the whole thorax. Furthermore, the abdomen is short and

flat, curls under the carapace and it walks sideways (Zongguo and Mao, 2012, [4]).

3.2.5.1 Uca Arcuate

A classic characteristic of this type of crab is that the male are asymmetric with one large and

one small claw. The large claw has a rough surface, two big teeth and many small teeth.

Additionally, it has long eyes, sharp polpobral area. (Cai, 2015)



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3.2.5.2 Sesarma Bidens

Classic characteristics of this type are that it has equally big claws with 2 teeth at each side of

the claw where one is sharper then the other. Furthermore, it has two side teeth on the body of

the crab.

3.2.5.3 Metaplax Sherin

Classic characteristics of this type are that; it has four teeth, round circles under its’ eyes and

the claws are divided into seven parts. (Cai, 2015)

3.2.6 Corophium sp. The specie Corophium sp. belongs to the class Crustacea. It lives in both marine and

freshwater systems at the soft bottom (Zongguo and Mao, 2012 [2]).

3.2.7 Leptoplana sp. Leptoplana sp. is a small phylum, Orthonectida, and lives as parasites in marine waters. It is

among the simplest of multi-cellular organisms. The adults of this specie look like

microscopic wormlike animals that consist of a single layer of ciliated outer cells (Zongguo

and Mao, 2012 [2]).

Figure 5 from the left Uca Arcuate, Sesarma Bidens and Metaplax Sherin can be seen

Figure 6 from the left Corophium sp and Leptoplana sp can be seen



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3.2.8 Actinia sp. This specie is a type of sea anemone that belongs to the family Actiniidae (Zongguo and Mao,

2012 [2]). One type of Actinia is commonly called the strawberry anemone due to that it is red

and has yellow and green spots. Additionally, it has the capacity to purify water but can be

toxic for humans (Bellomio 2009).

3.2.9 Ascidiidae Ascidiidae is a family of tunicates belonging to the class Ascidiacea and they are commonly

known as sea squirts. They are sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. The family can be

found all over the world but not over a salinity of 2,5% (Zongguo and Mao, 2012 [2]).

3.3 Sampling Locations The samples were taken in Yundang Lagoon, which is located in the city of Xiamen, Fujian

Province, in southeast of China. It is a part of the Xiamen harbour, marine water, and for a

long time it was subject to severe pollution. Since the 1980´s the lagoon has been a part of a

restoration program. As a part of this program four different ecological-floating beds and

mangrove areas has been planted in the lagoon (Chen, Lu, Hong, Ye, Wang, & Lu, 2010).

Below a map can be seen of the different places were the sampling took place. In the map the

circle is the mangrove and the ecological-floating beds are located in the inner and outer lake

as can be seen in the map.

Figure 7 from the left Actinia sp. and Ascidiidae can be seen



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Figure 8 Description and map of the different sampling locations in Yundang Lagoon

Common species in the Yundang Lagoon are Mytilopsis sallei, Polychaeta, Bivalvia,

Crustacea, Platyhelminthes, Nemertean, Bryozoan and Urochordate (Cai L.Z et.al. 2012).

According to Cai L.Z et.al the density percentage of each group in the summer were: Bivalvia

49,50%, Polychaeta 3,83 %, and Crustacea 46,57% while Mytilopsis sallei was abundant in

the Lagoon. The authors continue to state that the biomass percentage of each group was

equal to the density percentage (Cai L.Z et.al. 2012).

3.4 Ecological-floating bed Ecological-floating bed, EFB, is a newly developed approach that is used in order to improve

the water quality of contaminated water. It is a soilless planting structure constructed with

floating aquatic plants, floating mats, sediment rooted emergent wetland plants and related

ecological communities such as algae and biofilm. The water passes beneath the mat and the

pollutants are removed through e.g. roots via several mechanisms, two examples are as

biofilm and nutrient uptake. This method is effective, not very expensive and has a high

biosecurity. (Cai, 2015)



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In Yundang Lagoon there are three artificial ecological-floating beds, with the specie

Sesuvium portulacastrum. Sesuvium portulacastrum is used for sand-dune fixation,

desalination and phytoremediation along coastal regions. The plant has a high tolerance for

salinity, drought and toxic metals, leading to that it is said that the plant can handle abiotic

stresses. It can grow at its best at 100-400mM NaCl concentrations but have no problem to

grow with a severe salinity of 1000mM NaCl without any toxic symptoms on the leaves.

Furthermore, has the plant the capacity to reduce the load of saline salts and heavy metals in

semiarid regions. Additionally it is use as fodder for domestic animals, as an ornamental plant

and as a vegetable. (Lokhande et al, 2012)

3.5 Mangrove The mangrove area in the middle of Yundang Lagoon consists of the specie Kandelia candel

and is a precious resource for ecological and economical reasons. In the recent years many

mangrove areas world widely are lost or destroyed due to the need of fast economic

development. Additionally mangroves are habitat to many species such as macrofauna,

meiofauna and many birds (A.Netto & Gallucci, 2003). In mangrove areas it is common for

both macrofauna and meiofauna to exist. Some common species or classes are: Oligochaeta,

Polychaeta, Haliplectidae, Anoplostomatidae, Linhomoidae and Capitella capitata (A.Netto

& Gallucci, 2003). Additionally, It is common for Nematoda to live in Mangrove areas and

according to Armenteros et.al they are often also the most common specie (Armenteros et.al,

2006). Furthermore, according to a third article the most abundant species in mangroves are

Oligochaeta, Turbellaria, Nematoda, Harpacticoida and Polychaeta (Ólafsson, 1995).

Ólafsson continues by stating that Nematoda dominates in the mangrove areas.

4. Method

4.1 Macrofauna in ecological-floating bed in Yundang Lagoon Samplings on two different occasions were done, the first on the 30th of June and the second

on the 7th of July. On the 30th of June one sample was taken. On the other hand, on the 7 of

July samples were taken in two different ecological-floating beds. For each of the ecological-

floating beds three samples were taken in all of the four directions: north, south, east and west

of the ecological-floating bed. In total 24 samples were taken on 8 different sites.



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One of the ecological-floating beds was located in the inner lake of the Yundang Lagoon and

the other in the outer lake of the Yundang Lagoon. We measured the length and diameter of

each plant and moved off all of benthos from each plant. The whole area of the ecological-

floating bed was estimated to 2.5m*2m. After that, we preserved and fixed them with 5%

methanol. This was done in order to be able to continue in the lab with the procedure

described under macrofauna.

4.2 Macrofauna and Meiofauna in Mangrove in Yundang Lagoon Three samples were taken in the mangrove area, which was located in the middle of the

Yundang Lagoon. The plant Kandelia candel basically made up the whole mangrove area and

the height of it was approximately 3 m. The samples were collected using a spoon in order to

take samples with a depth of approximately 30 cm. The samples were put in a plastic jar for

transportation to the laboratory and further investigations. In the laboratory the samples were

washed and analysed according to the methods for macrofauna and meiofauna.

Figure 9 Picture of the ecological-floating bed in inner lake of Yundang Lagoon and a sample of Sesuvium portulacastrum



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4.3 Fouling organisms on the pier and boats in Yundang Lagoon. Samples from the pier and boats were taken by randomly chose a 25*25 cm square. In this

place all the animals were scraped off and collected in a jar, to be transported to the laboratory

for further investigation. The sample was put into a formaldehyde solution and investigated

by the method explained below under Macrofauna.

4.4 Macrofauna In order to analyse the samples in the lab one small disk, one large disk, two tweezers and a

0.5 µm mesh were used. The samples taken from the Mangrove were pored at the mesh and

washed with water gently in order to collect the remaining sample in one corner of the mesh.

The remaining samples were then pored down to the large disk filled with water. All the

organisms that could be seen on the large disk were put in the small disk also filled with

water. The small disk was then emptied on water and the organisms were pored down to a

small bottle filled with 80 % ethanol in order to conserve the animals. When the animals had

been conserved they were investigated and identified by looking in a stereomicroscope and

then weight.

Figure 10 Pictures of sampling of meiofauna and macrofauna in the mangrove wetland in Yundang Lagoon



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4.5 Meiofauna To be able to analyse the three samples for meiofauna, sediment was taken from the

mangrove gently by pushing a hypodermic syringe directly into the sediment. The samples

were directly fixed with 5 % formalin. Two different meshes were used in order to collect and

wash the samples. The first mesh was with 0.5 µm and the second mesh was with 0.042 µm.

The soil sample that had been preserved with 5 % formalin was washed with tab water.

Furthermore, the washed samples was mixed with a 40% silicon. The sample was centrifuged

and the remaining liquid was taken through a 0.042 mesh. At last, the sample that was stock

to the mesh was taken and put together with water in a bottle. In order to count and

investigate the meiofauna, the sample was placed on a plate separated in six lines and

observed in a microscope for identification and counting.

Figure 11 Counting and washing of macrofauna from samples taken in the mangrove wetland



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5. Results Just by looking at Yundang Lagoon it is possible to see that it is salinity-sea water with a

brown colour. Furthermore, it consists of mangrove wetlands, ecological-floating beds and it

is possible to see a lot of different species as well as trash in the lagoon. The samplings of

both occasions were during low tide.

5.1 Macrofauna in ecological-floating bed in Yundang Lagoon The samples from the ecological-floating beds were all taken in the 7th of July in 2015. In the

table below the salinity, temperature, longitude and latitude can be seen. Both the salinity and

temperature of the water is as usual for being summer in China. Table 1 Data of the ecological-floating beds in Yundang Lagoon

Place T (℃) Salinity（‰） Longitude, Latitude

EFB in outer lake 30,4 12,2 E 118°4’38, 93 “

N 24°28’22, 99”

EFB in inner lake 29,6 12,1 E 118°5´42.51"

N 24°28´56.57"

In all of the four graphs below E stands for east, S for south, W for west and N for north.

These are the four different samplings directions of the ecological-floating beds.

Figure 12 Observing, identifying, counting and taking photos of meiofauna



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In the graph below the density (nr/m2) of the dominant species living on Sesuvium

portulacastrum in the outer lake can be seen. The species with the highest density are

Polydora sp., Balanus amphitrite and Mytilopsis sallei.

Figure 13 the mean density of the dominant species in the outer lake.

In the graph below the biomass (nr/m2) of the dominant species living on Sesuvium

portulacastrum in the outer lake can be seen. The specie with the highest biomass is Balanus

amphitrite.

Figure 14 the mean biomass of the dominant species in the outer lake.



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In the graph below the density (nr/m2) of the dominant species living on Sesuvium

portulacastrum in the inner lake can be seen. The species with highest density are Polydora

sp., Balanus amphitrite and Capitella capitata.

Figure 15 the mean density of the dominant species in the inner lake.

In the graph below the biomass (nr/m2) of the dominant species living on Sesuvium

portulacastrum in the inner lake can be seen. The species with highest biomass are Balanus

amphitrite and Mytilopsis sallei.

Figure 16 the mean biomass of the dominant species in the inner lake.



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5.2 Macrofauna and Meiofauna in Mangrove in Yundang Lagoon

The samples from the mangrove were all taken in the 30th of June in 2015. In the table below

the salinity, temperature, longitude and latitude can be seen. Both the salinity and temperature

of the mangrove was as usual during summer in China. Table 2 Data of the Mangrove in Yundang Lagoon

Place Date T （℃） Salinity (‰) Longitude, Latitude

Mangrove in

Yundang

Lagoon

30/6-2015 34.0 24.6 E 118°5´48.81"

N 24°28´52.54"

Meiofauna In the figure below the composition of the meiofauna in the mangrove is illustrated. The three

samples are all shown in the same graph plotted with the percentage of all species. In the

graph it can be seen that Nematoda is the dominant specie for all three samples. Furthermore,

it can be seen that Polychaeta, Oligochaeta and Copepoda are common species in all three

samples.

Figure 17 Composition of meiofauna in mangrove wetland for the three different samples



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The table below shows the values that the graph above is based on, calculations can be seen in

the appendix. If no values are written this specie was not found in that sample. Table 3 Percentage of meiofauna in the mangrove wetland.

Class Percentage % of

specie in sample 1

Percentage % of

specie in sample 2

Percentage % of

specie in sample 3

Nematoda 91,3 90,5 71,4

Oligochaeta - 0,94 3,99

Polychaeta 5,15 2,66 19,8

Copepoda 3,58 2,74 4,79

Turbellaria - 2,57 -

Ophiuroidea - 0,17 -

Amphipoda - 0,43 -

Macrofauna In the table below the macrofauna that was found or collected in the mangrove wetland is

showed. It can be seen that the classes are: Polychaeta, Gastropoda, Brachyura and

Crustacea. For the species Sesarma bidens and Metaplax sherin only one animal was

collected. For Uca arcuata two animals were collected. Table 4 Result of Macrofauna found in the mangrove wetland.

Class Specie Number found

Polychaeta Capitella capitata 25

Polychaeta Nereididae 9

Gastropoda Littoraria scabra 1

Polychaeta Potamilla sp. 1

Brachyura Uca arcuata 2

Brachyura Sesarma bidens 1

Brachyura Metaplax sherin 1

Gastropoda Bullacta exarata 1

Polychaeta Melinna sp. 4

Gastropoda Littoraia melanostoma 1

Crustacea Corophium sp. 1



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5.3 Fouling organisms on the pier and boats in Yundang Lagoon.

On the pier and boats it was possible to see a lot of Mytilopsis sallei and Balanus amphitrite

and also some Littoraria scabra.

6. Discussion

6.1 Macrofauna in ecological-floating bed in Yundang Lagoon The results for the two ecological-floating beds show that for the outer lake the mean density

was highest for Polydora sp. The second one is Balanus amphitrite followed by Mytilopsis

sallei and Actina sp. The other species have low abundance and are therefore difficult to

analyse. It can also be seen that Polydora sp. has highest standard error followed by Balanus

amphitrite. On the other hand, the mean biomass is much higher for Balanus amphitrite

compared to the other species. Corresponding to what was observed during the time the

samples were taken and also to the research by Cai L.Z. It can be said that Balanus amphitrite

had a higher biomass than the other species but Polydora sp. was more abundant.

Looking at the results for the mean density of the inner lake it can be seen that Balanus

amphitrite has the highest density followed by Polydora sp. and Capitella capitata. The

specie with highest density, Balanus amphitrite, has the highest standard error, the same as in

the outer lake. Furthermore, when looking at the mean biomass Balanus amphitrite is highest

followed by Mytilopsis sallei. The other species are hard to analyse since the values are very

low.

Comparing inner lake and outer lake, the mean density and biomass for the species that exist

in the inner lake are higher. On the other hand, there are more species in the outer lake. One

reason to this could be that the water circulation is higher in the outer lake leading to better

living conditions. While in the inner lake a few species have more favourable conditions

compared to the others. The differences of the results for the four different weather directions

could be due to differences in water circulation and the direction of water flow.

6.2 Macrofauna and Meiofauna in Mangrove in Yundang Lagoon

When looking at the results of meiofauna from the mangrove it can be seen that the most

common specie is Nematoda and that the second one is Polychaeta, followed by Copepod.



24

This correlates to the research by Armenteros and Ólafsson. Additionally, the rest of the

meiofauna species that were found in the mangrove also correlates to the research by

Armenteros and Ólafsson. From this it is possible to say that the meiofauna species found in

the mangrove seems to be realistic, since the same species exist and that the order of

dominance coexists. On the other hand, when comparing the results of the three different

samples some differences are noticeable. There are a higher percentage of Nematoda in

sample 1 and 2 compared to the 3rd sample. Additionally, there are a higher percentage of

Polychaeta in the third sample compared to the other two. Furthermore, It can also be seen

that in the second sample there are more types of species then in the others. Even though there

are differences between the samples it is difficult to state the reason for this. A reason can be

that we were three different students with different experience of identifying and sorting the

species. Another reason could be that the difference in the composition of the species is a

coincidence. Due to that the percentage of the other species were very low compared to

Nematoda, Polychaeta and Copepod.

Furthermore, when looking at the results for macrofauna in the mangrove it can be seen that

the classes were Polychaeta, Gastropoda, Brachyura and Crustacea. It seems reasonable that

Polychaeta and Crustacea exist according to the research by Cai L.Z et.al. Additionally,

according to Zongguo and Mao it also seems realistic that Brachyura exists as these crabs

typically lives in mangrove. The same can be said about the Gastropoda as these can live in

marine water and on land, which is the case for the mangrove wetland. Furthermore, it can be

seen that the composition of macrofauna differed a lot from each other as their habitats differs

a lot. Leading to, that if samples were taken on different places the composition of

macrofauna would also differ.



25

6.3 Fouling organisms on the pier and boats in Yundang Lagoon.

For the results of fouling organisms three different species could be seen. According to

Zongguo and Mao, it seems realistic that the first specie Mytilopsis sallei exists since they live

on hard surfaces and in marine environments. Furthermore, according to Cai L.Z it is one of

the most common species in Yundang Lagoon and therefore it would be surprising if it would

not be found. Additionally, it is reasonable to find both the Balanus amphitrite and the

Littoraria scabra. Firstly, the specie Balanus amphitrite lives on surfaces such as piers.

Secondly, Littoraria scabra are found in marine waters and it is common in China.

Sources of errors during the experiments are as mentioned earlier that it was difficult to count

and identify the different species. The author’s knowledge of macrofauna and meiofauna is

unfortunately limited and literature not always unequivocal. Furthermore, when taking of

Balanus amphitrite from Sesuvium portulacastrum it was hard to keep them unbroken.

7. Conclusion To sum up, for the ecological floating beds the most common species were Polydora sp.,

Balanus amphitrite, Capitella capitata and Mytilopsis sallei. Differences in mean density and

mean biomass could was seen, where the difference in the inner lake was largest.

Additionally, the ecological-floating bed in the outer lake contained more species than the

inner.

In the mangrove wetland, Nematoda was the dominant specie as predicted as was also the

composition of the other species of meiofauna. Furthermore, the macrofauna in the wetland

consisted of Polychaeta, Gastropoda, Brachyura and Crustacea as was also predicted to be

able to live in these habitat. At last, the fouling organisms of the piers and boats were

Mytilopsis sallei, Balanus amphitrite and Littoraria scabra. The same can be said for these

species as above that it was also expected for them to be found here.



26

8. References A.Netto & Gallucci (2003) Meiofauna and macrofauna communities in a mangrove from the Island of Santa Catarina, South Brazil. Hydrobiologia 505, pp. 159-170. Armenteros et.al (2006) Spatial and Temporal Variations of Meiofauna Communities from the Western Sector of the Gulf of Batabanó, Cuba. 1 Mangrove Systems. Estuaries and Coasts Vol.29, No1, p. 124-132 Bellomio et.al. (2009) Purification, cloning and characterization of fragaceatoxin C, a novel actinoporin from the sea anemone Actinia fragacea, Elsevier Ltd Cai Li-Zhe et.al (2014) Effect of the invasive bivalve Mytilopsis sallei on the macrofaunal fouling community and the environment of Yundang Lagoon, Xiamen, China. Hydrobiologia 741 pp. 101-111. Cai Lizhe, College of Environment and Ecology Xiamen University, [email protected] , 2015-06-29 Chen, C., Lu, Y., Hong, J., Ye, M., Wang, Y., & Lu, H. (2010). Metal and metalloid contaminant availability in Yundang Lagoon sediments. Journal of Hazardous Materials(175), 1048– 1055.

Han Z et.al. (2013) iTRAQ-based proteomic profiling of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite in response to the antifouling compound meleagrin., American Chemistry Society,

Hongwei Du et al. (2007), Characterization of 11 microsatellite loci derived from genomic sequences of polychaete Capitella capitata complex, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Joseph B. Jennings (1992), The Nature and Origin of the Epidermal Scales of Notodactylus handschini: An Unusual Temnocephalid Turbellarian Ectosymbiotic on Crayfish from Northern Queensland, Biological Bulletin Kon Koetsu et al., 2015, Do allochthonous inputs represent an important food resource for benthic macrofaunal communities in tropical estuarine mudflats?, Food Webs Lokhande Vinayak H. et al. (2013), Sesuvium portulacastrum, a plant for drought, salt stress, sand fixation, food and phytoremediation. A review, Agron. Sustain. Dev. (2013) 33:329–348

Ólafsson (1995) Meiobenthos in mangrove areas in eastern Africa with emphasis on assemblage structure of free-living marine nematodes. Hydrobiolgia 312, pp. 47-57 Passarelli Claire et al., 2012, Impacts of biogenic structures on benthic assemblages: microbes, meiofauna, macrofauna and related ecosystem functions, MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES. Vol. 465.

Pleijel and Rouse (2001)Polychaetes, Oxford University Press, pp.193. Zongguo Huang and Mao Lin (2012) An illustration guide to species in China´s seas, vol.3. [1] Zongguo Huang and Mao Lin (2012) An illustration guide to species in China´s seas, vol.5.[2] Zongguo Huang and Mao Lin (2012) An illustration guide to species in China´s seas, vol.4.[3] Zongguo Huang and Mao Lin (2012) An illustration guide to species in China´s seas, vol.6.[4]



27

9. Appendix Values from calculations for figure 19 and table 3. Inner lake position species Mean

density SD, error bars Mean

biomass SD, error bars

E Capitella capitata 1849,34 125,35 0,37 0,15 S Capitella capitata 2154,86 1112,09 0,50 0,68 W Capitella capitata 3170,54 787,98 1,17 0,68 N Capitella capitata 2983,35 1604,57 1,99 2,30 E Polydora sp. 2737,05 2019,09 0,61 0,50 S Polydora sp. 2331,17 2010,14 0,68 0,46 W Polydora sp. 4979,13 2460,03 1,32 0,75 N Polydora sp. 3711,14 1043,12 2,14 1,04 E Corophium sp. 324,39 151,62 0,27 0,19 S Corophium sp. 401,41 67,22 0,64 0,14 W Corophium sp. 1121,54 204,47 0,35 0,06 N Corophium sp. 444,91 131,66 0,40 0,26 E Balanus amphitrite 16559,58 12804,50 321,84 121,19 S Balanus amphitrite 5364,25 1932,16 172,30 100,76 W Balanus amphitrite 15690,57 4091,46 268,70 54,59 N Balanus amphitrite 8095,48 4546,52 328,94 75,26 E Mytilopsis sallei 227,77 113,96 115,96 4,06 S Mytilopsis sallei 1319,75 359,11 55,75 27,73 W Mytilopsis sallei 1350,13 306,31 17,46 8,74 N Mytilopsis sallei 884,27 358,12 56,02 40,42



28

Outer lake position species Mean

density SD, error bars Mean

biomass SD, error bars

E Polydora sp. 66832,79 15458,96 53,64 13,94 S Polydora sp. 205239,54 111112,23 347,44 289,52 W Polydora sp. 18852,68 2699,16 10,42 1,14 N Polydora sp. 3654,77 559,73 1,41 0,27 E Mytilopsis sallei 298,46 187,93 3,02 2,95 S Mytilopsis sallei 2212,66 840,69 12,59 1,84 W Mytilopsis sallei 5528,97 3046,75 64,43 29,17 N Mytilopsis sallei 6881,47 2487,14 273,58 110,03 E Balanus amphitrite 10867,71 5648,09 1812,57 734,44 S Balanus amphitrite 36099,15 25829,03 3942,68 2451,25 W Balanus amphitrite 102710,33 8255,39 2572,76 888,66 N Balanus amphitrite 4404,07 2078,28 383,15 231,14 E Actinia sp. 4075,35 2208,47 29,31 14,42 S Actinia sp. 5325,62 1401,02 43,12 6,67 W Actinia sp. 2721,89 1594,54 13,31 7,57 N Actinia sp. 168,67 168,78 3,52 3,52 E Ascidiidae papillosa 168,32 168,32 29,09 29,09 S Ascidiidae papillosa 168,30 176,12 33,46 37,19 W Ascidiidae papillosa 2407,42 918,65 382,00 160,76 N Ascidiidae papillosa 415,39 257,28 88,89 56,21 E Potamilla sp. 839,27 507,85 8,13 7,81 S Potamilla sp. 622,39 137,29 2,10 1,18 W Potamilla sp. 892,27 805,49 23,80 6,58 N Potamilla sp. 258,80 118,13 11,51 12,22 E Corophium sp. 1403,06 1408,93 0,23 0,23 S Corophium sp. 330,13 160,89 0,15 0,05 W Corophium sp. 1327,66 152,14 0,42 0,02 N Corophium sp. 591,95 85,78 0,16 0,07

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