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-------
SPECIES COMPOSITION AND DIVERSITY OF POLYCHAETES
IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT
by
John R. Frey
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Intern
National Coastal Pollution Research Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-
Marine Science Center
Newport, OR 97365
SEPTEMBER 1973
Committee Members:
R. C. Swartz
W. A. DeBen
D. T. Martin
D. J. Baumgartner
-------
ABSTRACT
This study is part of a larger investigation of the biological consequences of
waste, disposal in the New York Bight. Polychaetes from the samples of
three cruises (December, 1972; February and May 1973) in the Bight were
identified. "Bamboo worms" (families Maldanidae and Oweniidae were the
most abundant and ubiquitous polychaetes and would therefore be the best
indicator species to monitor pollution in the area. No temporal changes
tn the densities of polychaete populations were evident, but summer
and fall collections must be analyzed to complete the seasonal distribution.
It is suggested that there is an optimal sediment size for polychaetes,
above and below which the populations decrease. Faunal homogeneity indices
for all pairs of samples were computed and plotted, giving a bimoda]
distribution. It is likely that the left peak of this graph is due to
two aberrant samples, without which the data would be normally distributed.
A normal distribution indicates an intergrading of polychaete species
rather than the distinct communities indicated by a bimodal distribution.
iii
-------
INTRODUCTION
The oceans have been used for the disposal of sewage sludge and dredging
spoils for over a century, but the biological consequences of this practice
have received little attention. It is clear now that ocean waste disposal
adversely affects marine animals. Several studies have concentrated on this
problem, and most of these have Included a study of benthic or bottom-
living organisms. Most scientists agree that benthic organisms are the
best biological indicators of this kind of pollution (Butcher, 1955; Gross
and Wallen, 1968; NOAA, 1972).
Few studies of the species diversity and abundance of benthic animals
have been done in the New York Bight, an area used extensively for waste
disposal. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute surveyed benthic organisms
in the Bight during a study of geological resources in 1956, but unfortunately
no samples were taken within the waste disposal area. In 1968 the National
Marine Fisheries Service initiated a program of benthic core, grab, dredge,
and trawl collections in the disposal areas of the New York Bight (NOAA, 1972).
Sediment samples, important in determining the distribution of animals and
the species composition of benthic communities, were taken along with the
biological samples.
The NOAA group found that benthic communities were markedly affected by waste
dumping. Few individuals and species were present in areas that have been
covered with spoils or sludge. Sanders (1968) points out that species
diversity in marine communities is highly correlated with the stability of
the physical environment. It is likely that physical and chemical changes in
the sediments caused by waste disposal stress benthic populations and reduce
species diversity.
The NOAA report suggested that benthic organisms may be killed in several
ways by ocean dumping. Animals may simply be buried by the wastes. Highly
reducing organics in the wastes may lower oxygen concentrations in the
sediments to intolerable levels. Benthic animals may be killed by toxic
materials in the wastes, including heavy metals which are known to be in
high concentrations in disposal areas. The levels of metals such as
chromium, copper, lead; and zinc in these areas far exceed those known to
be harmful to marine life (Gross et al., 1971).
The EPA's National Coastal Pollution Research Program is presently conducting
a long-term study of the benthic fauna of a proposed experimental dump-site
in the New York Bight. This investigation enables a direct comparison of
benthic populations in an area before, during, and after the initiation of
sludge dumping.
2
-------
This summer, as part of the larger project described above, I identified
polychaetes (marine annelids) from samples taken in the Bight in 1972 and
1973. The abundance, species diversity, richness, and faunal homogeneity
of the benthic community were documented in relation to season, area, and
bottom sediments. This information will be used in the establishment of a
baseline of pre-dump conditions at the experimental site.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
2
Benthic samples were collected with a .lm -Smith-Maclntyre grab from the
R/V Rorqual of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sandy
Hook, New Jersey. Surveys were conducted on December 3-7, 1972; February
5-9 (sampling completed Febraury 20-22), 1973; and May 7-11, 1973. Nine
different stations were sampled in total, but all were not sampled on each
cruise. Station A was located 0.25 nautical miles due east of buoy NB,
approximately 15 n.m. south of Fire Island, New York. The other stations
were spread symmetrically around Station" A. Stations B, C, D, and E were
located 2.1 n.m. northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest of Station A,
respectively. Stations F, 6, H, and J lay 1 n.m. south, west, north, and east
of Station A, respectively. During the December cruise, samples were collected
at Stations A through E. All stations were sampled during the February cruise,
while only Station A was sampled in May. Between 1 and 6 (usually 5) samples
were taken at each station during each survey. Temperature, salinity, and
dissolved oxygen measurements were taken at each station, and sediment samples
were collected for heavy metals, particle size, and organic content analysis.
Biological samples were separated from the sediments with a 1.0mm screen,
preserved in ethanol, and later sorted into major taxa. I identified the
polychaetes using a Wild dissecting microscope. The key of Gosner, 1971;
Pettibone, 1968; and Smith, 1964 were used for identification.
STATISTICAL METHODS
The "species diversity" of the samples was assessed in terms of an information
theory index (the Shannon equation) as described in Lloyd, Zar, and Karr,
1968: H' = E p-j log pi. pi, intended to be the true proportions of species in
a population, is usually estimated by n-j/N, where N is the total number of
individuals, andn. is the number of individuals of a particular specie. The
above equation may be rewritten as ; H- = c/N [N log-]q N-En-j log^n^] where
c is a scale factor for conversion of base 10 logarithms to another base..
Sanders- (1960) "affinity index" was calculated as a measure of the faunal
homogeneity between pairs of samples. The percentage of the total number
of individuals in each sample (columns in Figure 1) that each species
represents was determined. The index of affinity for a pair of samples
was calculated by summing the smaller percentages of those species present in
both samples. This measure of the percentage of the total fauna common to
both samples was computed for all possible pairs of samples and the values
arranged in a "trellis diagram" (Figure 4).
3
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RESULTS
Forty-two species and 1064 specimens of polychaetes were present in the
benthic samples (Table 1). The most common worms and their abundances
were: Clymenella zonalis, 257; Goniadella gracilis, 115; Leichone dispar,
67; Clymenella torquata, 57; Lumbrineris acuta, 51; Nichomache lumbricalis,
45; and Nephtys pi eta, 45. The first four species in this list accounted
for almost half of the total number of polychaetes, and all seven species
accounted for 60 percent.- Clymenella zonalis, Leichone dispar, Clymenella
torquata, and Nichomache lumbricalis are all "bamboo worms" (so-called
because of elongated segments) of the families Maldanidae and Oweniidae.
Clymenella zonalis was the most ubiquitous as well as the most abundant
polychaete in the samples, being present at all but one station.
Since each column in Table 1 represents a different number of samples, the
totals cannot be compared. Therefore, densities were computed by dividing
the totals for each column by the number of samples for that column X .lm
(the "bite size" of the Smith Maclntyre grab). The resulting numbers
represent the densities of polychaetes per meter^ for each station during the
indicated month. The densities at Station B were very low (Table 1, Figure 1).
There is no clear relation between density and month. At stations A and B,
for example, the density of animals was greater during December than during
February, while the reverse is true for Stations C, D, and E.
The species richness, or the number of species, ranged from 3 to 21 (Table 1).
At all stations except B, the species richness during February exceeded that
of December.
To compare the sediment data with species density and richness, the rows of
Table 2 were ranked according to the particle diameter (in inn) greater than
the 50th percentile (the particle size in the sample which is greater than
50 percent of the ramaining particle sizes); for Station A in December, for
example, this was 0.35 mm. The densities and species richnesses, also
ranked, are plotted against the ranked sediment data in Figures 2 and 3. The
points trace out rough parabolas with several outliers (the worst of which are
for the two Station B samples.
The H1 values are listed in Table 3 below according to station (first letter)
and month (second letter). Station A in December, for example, is represented
by AD.
4
UBRARY / EPA
National tnv""
:iunQTital Research Caatar
20U3 QTI30
CorWlia, Oregon 97330
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Table 3. Species Diversity Values
Sample
H'
AD
AF
AM
BD
BF
CD
CF
DD
DF
ED
EF
FF
GF
HF
IF
3.0066
3.5676
3.5266
2.7473
1.5215
1.8498
3.2901
2.9816
3.4266
3.0806
3.7482
2.4694
1.6699
2.8550
2.8184
The mean value of H' is 2.8312, the high value is for sample EF, and
the low value is for sample BF.
The affinity index values range from 0 to 71 percent. Many of the low
values are accounted for by samples BF and CD. For example, 23 out of
31 of the values up to 37 are accounted for by these samples. None of the
values above 37 are from these two samples. The values of sample BF were
the lowest, with only 3 of 10 being above 10. Sample BD has several low
values, but also has several values above 40. Figure 5 indicates how many
values samples BF and CD account for.
The data of Table 1 shows that "bamboo worms" are the most abundant and
ubiquitous polychaetes found in the New York Bight samples. These worms,
therefore, may be good indicator species for following the biolgical effects
of sewage and sludge dumping in the Bight.
Table 1 also reveals that although there is great variation between stations,
Station B is clearly anomalous. The densities of polychaetes for these two
samples are the lowest of all the samples. The species richness of the
February sample at Station N (Sample BF) is the lowest of all samples. In all
samples other than those of Station B, the species richness was greater during
February than December. Sample BF also has the lowest diversity index, and
the lowest affinity index values. The smaller abundance and diversity values
may be due to coarser sediments at this station.
DISCUSSION
5
-------
There is no clearly discernible temporal effect on density of polychaetes.
Undoubtedly both distributions and abundances change seasonally, but more data
is needed to describe these changes.
Figures 2 and 3 may indicate an optimal sediment size for polychaetes.
Above and below the optimal particle size the populations fall off.
The affinity indices (Figure 4) tells us which samples are most alike
ecologically,.and which have markedly different faunal composition. Sanders
(I960) found that benthic samples from Buzzards Bay with low affinity indices
had in common much lower silt-clay percentages than the other samples. In
this study, the samples CD and BF accounted for most of the low index values.
Station BF was characterized by larger (although not the largest of the
samples) sediments, but sample CD had the second smallest sediments of all
the samples. Perhaps the low affinity indices of samples CD and BF are
due to another physical characteristic of the sediments such as organics
content.
Figure 7 appears to be a bimodal distribution. This may indicate different
communities of polychaetes, since a peak of low affinity values indicates
ecologically unlike samples. It may also be that samples CD and BF, which account
for most of the low values, are aberrant. "The rest of the graph follows fairly
well, a normal distribution, indicating an intergrading of species rather
than distinct, separable communities. Since Sample BF may come from an
area with sediments unfavorable for polychaetes, it is possible that the left
peak of Figure 5 represents not a distinctly different community, but a
stressed one.
This study has provided more information on the benthic biology of the New
York Bight. More data, however, is needed to answer certain questions. The
seasonality, of distribution and abundance of benthic organisms, for example,
is likely but unverifiable with the present.data. An interesting relationship
between sediments and species diversity and density emerged from this study.
More data is required to verify the.relationship, and other physical parameters
of the sediments should be determined and correlated with the life histories of
the polychaetes found in the samples. There is apparantly a gradient of
polychaete communities, but this problem also needs further research. More data
would reveal whether CD and BF are aberrant samples or actually indicate
distinct communities. All information contained in this study, particularly
the density and diversity data, may be compared with future benthic samples in
the continuing program of assessing the biological impact of waste disposal in
the New York Bight.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to express my gratitude to W.I.C.H.E. (Western Interstate Commission for
Higher Education) for making this summer's work possible, and to the Environmental
Protection Agency's National Coastal Pollution Research Program for providing
the funding. I am also grateful to Dr. Richard Swartz for his continued help
throughout the project.
6
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LITERATURE CITED'
Butcher, R. W. 1955. Relation between the biology and the polluted condition
of the Trent. Verhandl. Int. Ver. Limnol. 12:823-7.
Gosner, K. L. 1971. Guide to Identification of Marine and Estuarine
Invertebrates. Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Gross, M*. N., and I. E. Wall en. 1968. Recommendations for studies on waste
disposal practices in the coastal waters off New York harbor. Special
Report prepared by Office of Oceanography and Limnology, Smithsonian
Institute, Washington, D. C. 36 pp.
Lloyd, M:, J. H. Zar, and J. R. Karr. 1968. On the calculation of information
theoretical measures of diversity. The American Midland Naturalist. Vol. 79,
No. 2 pp. 257-272.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1972.. The effects of waste
disposal in the New York Bight, Final Report. Section 2: Benthic Studies.
Distributed by National Technical Information Service. U. S. Dept. of
Connie rce.
Pettibone, M. H. 1968. Marine polychaete worms of the New England Region. Part 1:
Aphroditidae through Trochochaetidae. Smithsonian Institute. U. S.
National Museum Bulletin, p. 227
Sanders, H. L. 1960. Benthic studies in Buzzards Bay. Part 3: The Structure
of the Soft-Bottom Community. Limnology and Oceanography. Vol. 5, No. 2,
pp. 138-153.
Sanders, H. L. 1968. Marine Benthic Diversity: A comparative study. American
Natur. 102(925):243-82.
Smith, R. I., editor. 1968. Keys to Marine Invertebrates of the Woods Hole
Region. Contribution No. 11. Systematics-Ecology Program, Marine
Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
7
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Station A
Dec. Feb. Hay
Lepd1ametr1c conmensalls
Phloe minuta
Phloe sp.
Polynold (family) 1
Slgalion arenlcota 2
Stnenelais limlcola
Aglaophamus circinata
Aglaophamus verilli
Glyceda capltata
Glyceda dibranchiata
Goniadella gracilis 23
Nephtys buceda
Nephtys paradaa
Nephtys plcta 12
Aricidea Suecia
Lumbrineris acuta 5
Lumbrineris fragilis 2
Lumbrineris latreilH
Lumbrineris unident
Notocirrus spiniferus 3
Scoloplos rubra
Clymenella torquata 22
Clymenella zonal is 39
Leichone dispar 7
Nlchomache lumbricalts 9
Petalopractus tenuis 2
Rhodine attenuata 1
Orbinia ornata
Orbinia swani
Sealibregma inflatum
Eteone lacted
Eteone trilineata
Syllidae (family)
Dorvilleidae (family)
Stauronereis rudolph
Polydora sp.
Splonidae (family)
Spiophanes bombyx
Tharyx acutus 3
Terebellidae (family)
Ampharetidae (family)
Aricidea quadri.lobata _2
Totals 131
No. of Samples 6
Density per m 218.6
Species Richness 15
2
1
3
12
1
1
1
2
1
4
6
19
9
7
4
1
4
1
1
80
5
160
19
D
E
F
G
H
I
Dec.
Feb.
Dec.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Totals
1
2
12
2
2
2
1
S
1
1
3
28
3
2
1
22
1
1
3
27
3
1
5
1
4
1
1
1
9
10
17
8
1
4
10
115
1
2
2
3
5
1
5
4
2
5
45
3
1
1
1
8
1
18
2
3
3
1
13
51
3
1
2
4
1
19
2
5
1
1
5
1
1
57
11
24
6
7
56
12
3
16
257
5
2
8
8
6
10
67
3
2
1
5
4
45
1
4
1
1
24
2
7
6
10
2
2
25
1
3
7
4
1
35
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
2
1
2
2
6
4
1
2
2
16
1
6
3
30
102
39
IT
95
20
12
63
3
5
4
5
5
1
1
5
133.
3 204
97.5
122
190
200
120
126
11
18
11
19
16
5
8
10
(/>
0)
to
-
1
a>
O)
J3
ta
-------
EQUIVALENT DIAMETER (mm) GREATER THAN THE GIVEN PERCENTILE
AVERAGE OF ALL SUBSAMPLES
Percentile
5
16
25
50
75
84
95
Station
December
1972
A
0.84
0.49
0.44
0.35
0.27
0.23
0.16
Bern
0.77
0.52
0.46
0.36
0.30
0.27
0.19
^cs
0.74
0.50
0.45
0.35
0.31
0.28
0.21
D
1.28
0.66
0.49
0.40
0.30
0.29
0.23
E
2.08
1.16
0.78
0.45
0.34
0.30
0.26
C
0.43
0.34
0.30
0.23
0.18
0.16
0.12
February
8, 1973
A
0.67
0,49
0.44
0.35
0.28
0.26
0.20
B
1.09
0.68
0.54
0.41
0.33
0.30
0.24
C
0.52
0.41
0.37
0.30
0.25
0.21
0.15
February
21-22, 1973
D
0.90
0.58
0.49
0.40
0.32
0.29
0.21
E
0.66
0.46
0.42
0.34
0.28
0.26
0.19
F
0.67
0.47
0.42
0.35
0.28
0.25
0.19
G
0.85
0.53
0.47
0.39
0.31
0.29
0.22
H
0.35
0.27
0.24
0.19
0.15
0.13
0.10
I
1.32
0.87
0.66
0.44
0.35
0.32
0.26
May 8, 1973
A
0.73
0.55
0.48
0.36
0.27
0.25
0.18
Table 2. New York Bight bottom sediment size analysis summary.
9
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DENSITY INo./M2)
o
o
ro
o
o
OJ
o
o
J>
D
>
-n
1>
2
CD
O
CD
O
O
s "
'2 o
r- o
m
m
D
n
-n
Fig. 1. Densities of polychaetes in the New York Bight samples.
10
-------
IV)
30 o
>
z
m
o
CO
m ^
0 00
1
m
z
H
CO
N O
m
u)
ro
RANKED DENSITIES
^ OD O M
~i i i r 1 r~
_ •
o>
Fig. 2. Ranked density of polychaetes versus ranked sediment size at the
same station.
11
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RANKED SPECIES RICHNESSES
N & o> o6- o ro 5
t r fii 1 t 1 j—
Fig. 3. Ranked species richness of polychaetes versus ranked sediment size
at the same station.
12
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AD
AF
AM
BD
BF
CD
CF
DD
DF
ED
EF
FF
TF
AD
X
AF
53.3
X
¦ - •
AM
61.4
51.9
X
. . .
'////,
BD
55.9
41.4
41.9
X
W/,
•
¦w//
y////
BF
1.5
16.2
5.6
20.0
X
CD
29.6
12.8
16.0
16.6
9.2
X
'm,
'm
'WA
CF
49.7
50.4
57.7
34.5
5.6
11.1
X
.
¦ ¦ • :
DD
65.8
52.3
46.1
37.2
5.0
36.9
53.4
X
, . . .
DF
64.3
51.1
50.8
43.6
2.0
34.1
44.9
56.5'
X
ED
54.3
54.4
36.7
46.9
20.5
37.2
40.3
63.7
52.8
X
w,
EF
39.7
43.6
36.4
25.9
1.6
14.3
51.2
45.2
44.5
45.3
X
FF
55.8
44.5
54.6
33.0
0.0
14.0
49.0
45.7
49.9
36.8
41.2
X
IF
62.0
41.0
39.9
33.8
4.8
32.9
46.7
63.8
71.2
59.8
45.4
47.9
X
0-20
7777A
20-40 40-60
1^1
60-80
Fig. 4. A "trellis diagram" of the affinity indices for pairs of samples.
The marked squares indicate into which range of index values each pair
of samples falls.
-------
NUMBER
0-9
10-19
"D
r 20-29
o
x
> 30-39
rn
H
m
> 40-49
-n
z 50-59
-I
-<
_ 60-69
g
70-79
Ul
T~
Ol
T~
N
O
o
—*•
3*
(T>
-1
0)
Q
3
¦o_
(D
tn
CO
Q
3
¦D
(0
(/>
CD
o
3
Q.
O
o
Fig. 5. The number of pairs of samples falling into discrete ranges of
polychaete affinity values. The stippled areas are those values
accounted for by samples BF and CD.
14
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This report was completed by the following Intern:
Address:
Name:
John R. Frey
Route 1, Box 31K
Philomath, Oregon 97370
Immediately prior to this internship, the intern was a student at:
College
Oregon State University
Major Field: Biological Oceanography
Year in School: M-S. June 1973
This Intern report was read and accepted by a staff member at:
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Pacific Northwest Environmental Research Lab
Address: 200.S.W. 35th Street
Corvallis, Oregon 97365
If you have further comments about this intern report, please write or phone:
Bob Hullinghorst, Director
Resources Development Internship Program
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
P.O. Drawer "P"
Boulder, Colorado 80302
Phone: (303) 449-3333
15
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The.ideas and opinions expressed
in this report
are those of the author.
They do not necessarily reflect
the views of the
WICHE Commissioners or WICHE staff.
The Resources Development Internship Program
has been financed during 1973 by grants
from the
Economi c Development Admi ni strati on,
Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation,
National Endowment for the Humanities,
National Science Foundation
and by more than one hundred community
agencies throughout the West.
WICHE is an Equal Opportunity Employer
In the interest of resource conservation
and environmental improvement, this report
has been printed on recycled paper.
16
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THE RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The preceding report was completed by a WICHE Intern during the summer of 1973
This intern's project was part of the Resources Development Internship Program
administered by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE).
The purpose of the internship program is to bring organizations involved in com-
munity and economic development, environmental problems and the humanities togeth-
er with institutions of higher education and their students in the West for the
benefit of all.
For these organizations, the intern program provides the problem-solving talents
of student manpower while making the resources of universities and colleges more
available. For institutions of higher education, the program provides relevant
field education for their students while building their capacity for problem-solving.
WICHE is an organization in the West uniquely suited for sponsoring such a program.
It is an interstate agency formed by the thirteen western states for the specific
purpose of relating the resources of higher education to the needs of western citi-
zens. WICHE has been concerned with a broad range of community needs in the West
for some time, insofar as they bear directly on the well-being of western peoples
and the future of higher education in the West. WICHE feels that the internship
program is one method for meeting its obligations within the thirteen western
ceived the generous support and assistance of the Economic Development Administra-
tion, the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities,
o™ states. In its efforts to achieve these objectives, WICHE appreciates having re-
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