| Long-term trends in subtidal macrobenthic communities of the lower Chesapeake Bay, USA, were examined using data collected quarterly (March, June, September and December) fr om 1985 through 1993 at 16 stations along a salinity gradient from tidal freshwater regions of the major tributaries (James, York and Rappahannock rivers) to the polyhaline region of the mainstem of Chesapeake Bay. In March 1989 two stations were added to the program in the mesohaline region of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, a region characterized by contaminated sediments. A non-parametric trend analysis procedure was applied to five parameters characterizing macrobenthic community structure: community biomass, species richness, abundance of individuals, proportion of... |
