Benthic invertebrate community composition was surveyed across the salinity gradient of the Pensacola Bay Estuary in Florida during summer 2016. Macrofauna densities ranged from 1000 to 9300 individuals m⁻², with highest densities occurring at the upper estuary and the lowest in the mid‐ and lower estuary. Taxonomic richness and Shannon diversity were lowest in the upper estuary and increased along the salinity gradient. Small‐bodied, near‐surface infaunal polychaete species (e.g., Mediomastus ambiseta and Paraprionospio alata) dominated the macrofaunal community in fine sediment areas. We calculated the Gulf of Mexico Benthic Index of Biological Integrity for each site and compared the index scores with those from Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program ‐ Estuaries, an earlier benthic assessment model. Condition evaluations by the different models did not match across all sites in this study; however, scores consistently indicated that most sites were at or near degraded levels, implying that Pensacola Bay represents a marginal habitat for a “healthy” benthic macrofauna community. This study provided new information about the benthic communities and sediments in the Pensacola Bay estuary. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:245–256. Published 2019. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

中文翻译：

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使用底栖大型无脊椎动物对佛罗里达州西北部河口的生物评估。

2016 年夏季，对佛罗里达州彭萨科拉湾河口盐度梯度的底栖无脊椎动物群落组成进行了调查。大型动物密度范围为 1000 至 9300 人 m ^-2，河口上游密度最高，中下游最低河口。河口上游的分类丰富度和香农多样性最低，沿盐度梯度增加。体型小、近地表的多毛类动物（例如，Mediomastus ambiseta和Paraprionospio alata）以细泥沙区的大型动物群落为主。我们计算了每个地点的墨西哥湾底栖生物完整性指数，并将该指数得分与早期的底栖生物评估模型环境监测和评估计划 - 河口的得分进行了比较。不同模型的状况评估在本研究中的所有地点都不匹配；然而，分数一致表明大多数地点处于或接近退化水平，这意味着彭萨科拉湾是“健康”底栖大型动物群落的边缘栖息地。这项研究提供了有关彭萨科拉湾河口底栖生物群落和沉积物的新信息。2020 年整合环境评估管理；16：245–256。2019 年发布。本文是美国政府的作品，在美国属于公共领域。