Benthic invertebrate species richness and diversity at different habitats in the greater Charlotte Harbor system.

Abstract

This program focuses on describing the benthic communities of the major estuarine habitats of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program study area in Florida. This area encompasses seven watersheds which include the Peace River basin, Myakka River basin, coastal Venice basin, Lemon Bay basin, tidal Caloosahatchee River basin, Pine Island Sound basin, and the Estero Bay basin. The benthic macrofaunal community consists as a subtly changing gradient of species across the extent of the benthos. Benthic fauna are present everywhere there is water, unless there is something terribly wrong with the quality of the water or the sediment. Benthic communities are comprised of a multitude of plants and animals including; seagrasses, algae, fishes, worms, shrimp, crabs, mollusks, and many other organisms. The majority of the fauna of benthic communities consist of a group collectively referred to as invertebrates. Invertebrates are defined as animals without backbones, or animals that are not vertebrates. Collectively they represent the majority of animal life on earth, although they represent many different animal phyla. Invertebrates comprise the dominant macrofauna of the benthic community and they were the focus of this study. Within each of these basins the project team searched for representative areas of each of the eight habitat types which were then sampled for benthic macroinvertebrates. The data collected in this report briefly describes the ecological significance of the benthic habitats.