A benthic index of biological integrity for assessing habitat quality in estuaries of the southeastern USA

摘要

A benthic index of biotic integrity was developed for use in estuaries of the southeastern USA (Cape Henry, VA; St. Lucie Inlet, FL) using a modification of the method developed by Weisberg et al. (1997. An estuarine benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) for Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries, 20 (l), 149-158). Data from non-degraded stations sampled in 1993 and 1994 were analyzed using classification analysis of species composition to define major habitat types relative to selected physical parameters. Vanous benthic metncs were then tested on a larger 1994 data set for each major habitat to determine those that discriminated between non- degraded and degraded sites classified on the basis of dissolved oxygen, sediment chemistry, and sediment toxicity results. Scoring criteria for each metric were developed based on the distribution of values at non-degraded sites. Average scores from different combinations of the most sensitive metrics were compared to derive the final index, which integrates the average scores of four methods (number of taxa, abundance. dominance, and percent sensitive taxa).