Species Diversity and Community Structure of Macrobenthos in the Fishing

Kor, Arezoo; Gholizadeh, Mohammad; Harsij, Mohammad; Patimar, Rahman; Fathabadi, Aboalhasan; Aghilinejad, Seyed Mostafa

Volume 15, Issue 3 (Autmn 2025) J. Aqua. Eco 2025, 15(3): 57-66 | Back to browse issues page

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Kor A, Gholizadeh M, Harsij M, Patimar R, Fathabadi A, Aghilinejad S M. Species Diversity and Community Structure of Macrobenthos in the Fishing. J. Aqua. Eco 2025; 15 (3) :57-66
URL: http://jae.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-1151-en.html

Species Diversity and Community Structure of Macrobenthos in the Fishing

Arezoo Kor

, Mohammad Gholizadeh ^*

, Mohammad Harsij

, Rahman Patimar

, Aboalhasan Fathabadi

, Seyed Mostafa Aghilinejad

Abstract: (257 Views)

Although macrobenthic communities are key components of aquatic ecosystems worldwide, their ecology in the southeastern Caspian Sea’s fishing grounds remains poorly studied. This research examined the effects of beach-seine (Pereh) fishing on spatial and seasonal variations in macrobenthic communities along the Gomishan coast of Golestan Province. Seasonal sampling was conducted from autumn 2020 to summer 2021 at three stations, each with three transects (nine sampling points) on muddy substrates. Diversity indices, including Simpson, Shannon, and species richness, were calculated for benthic assemblages. Six major macrobenthic groups were identified. Polychaeta (52.50%), Tubificida (43.33%), and Mollusca (17.4%) represented the dominant taxa. The Naididae family exhibited the highest density (566.67 ind./m²), while the bivalve Cerastoderma glaucum showed the highest biomass (3.87 g/m²). Except in autumn, Polychaeta dominated across all seasons. Among sampling sites, the Khazar-seine station showed the highest abundance (46.76%), whereas the Peyvand station had the lowest (23.02%). Across transects, macrobenthos abundance was highest at 5000 m offshore (60.43%) and lowest nearshore (2.88%). Cluster and MDS analyses demonstrated minimal species abundance near the shoreline, with progressive increases offshore. Macrobenthos abundance also increased during summer. SIMPER analysis indicated that Naididae and Nereidae contributed most to community dissimilarity, while Pyrgulidae and Cardiidae were predominantly associated with deeper waters. Overall, findings reveal a marked gradient in macrobenthic abundance, with minimal densities at nearshore stations and increasing abundance at 1000 m and 5000 m distances from the coastline.

Keywords: Macrobenthos, species diversity, purse seine fishing, Gomishan coast.

Full-Text [PDF 910 kb] (88 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Published: 2025/11/1