Ecological types of macrozoobenthic communities in Peter the Great Bay of Japan Sea: biological properties and nomenclature

Six ecological types of macrozoobenthic communities are revealed in Peter the Great Bay by a procedure based on fuzzy set theory, with statistically significant differences between them. There are the type BB for biologically balanced or nearly balanced communities, the type PC for physically controlled ones, the intermediate between them types MD, D and HD with the moderately disbalanced, disbalanced, and strongly disbalanced communities, respectively, and the type De that presents destroyed or recovering communities presumably formed after short-term extreme negative impact of natural or anthropogenic factors. In the order from BB to PC types, the portion of animals extremely sensitive, sensitive and moderately tolerant to pollution and eutrophication is decreased and the contribution of extremely tolerant and tolerant animals is increased, as well as the portion of eurybiontic species. Quantitative indices of communities change correspondingly in this order that reflects, in general, increasing degree of disturbance and decreasing status of the bottom population. This approach can be applied for development of a new method for the benthos monitoring, though more detailed analysis of the environments for all identified ecological types of communities is necessary.

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