Richards Bay Harbour, which was constructed in early 1976, is South Africa’s largest and busiest port. Despite comprising mostly deep channels (>15 m) and associated harbour and shipping activities, the system still functions as an estuarine system. Information on the macrozoobenthic community structure in Richards Bay Harbour is scarce. This study was therefore conducted to examine the status of the macrobenthic community structure. Sediment and benthic samples were collected quarterly using a Van Veen grab during the period 2016–2017. The majority of habitat types had sediment compositions ranging from very fine sand to mud. The implication of this difference in sediment substrata was profound in the benthic abundance and distribution. Analyses of the benthic fauna identified 98 taxa, of which the tanaid Halmyrapseudes digitalis, the polychaetes Mediomastus capensis, Aphelochaeta marioni and Prionospio sexoculata and the brachyuran crab Paratylodiplax blephariskios were numerically abundant. Multivariate analyses performed using PRIMER and PERMANOVA indicated significant differences in community structure between sites and habitat types, with no significant differences between seasons. The intertidal mudflat areas in Richards Bay Harbour supported a more diverse assemblage, with habitat types strongly influencing the community structure. Despite this, habitat loss and degradation due to anthropogenic pressure from harbour and industrial activities were identified as potential threats to the overall abundance and distribution of macrozoobenthic organisms in Richards Bay Harbour. We conclude that despite anthropogenic pressures related to industrial and port activities, Richards Bay Harbour still contains estuarine habitat of high conservation importance that supports a diverse macrobenthic community.

理查兹湾港（Richards Bay Harbour）建于1976年初，是南非最大，最繁忙的港口。尽管该系统主要包含深水通道（> 15 m）以及相关的港口和航运活动，但该系统仍充当河口系统。关于理查兹湾港的大型动物学的群落结构的信息很少。因此，本研究旨在检查大型底栖动物群落结构的状况。在2016-2017年期间，使用Van Veen抓斗每季度收集沉积物和底栖生物样本。大多数生境类型的沉积物组成从极细的沙子到泥浆。在底栖生物的丰度和分布方面，这种沉积物差异的意义是深远的。对底栖动物的分析确定了98个分类单元，其中塔纳德洋地黄（Halmyrapseudes digitalis），山茱cha（Medomastus capensis），马兜铃（Aphelochaeta marioni）和性on螨（Prionospio sexoculata），以及短臂蟹（Brychyuran螃蟹）数量丰富。使用PRIMER和PERMANOVA进行的多变量分析表明，地点和栖息地类型之间的群落结构存在显着差异，而季节之间无显着差异。理查兹湾港（Richards Bay Harbor）的潮间带滩涂区域支持更多样化的组合，栖息地类型强烈影响着社区结构。尽管如此，由于港口和工业活动造成的人为压力而造成的栖息地丧失和退化被确定为对理查兹湾港口大型动物群的总体丰度和分布的潜在威胁。我们得出的结论是，尽管与工业和港口活动相关的人为压力，理查兹湾港仍包含具有高度保护重要性的河口栖息地，可支持各种大型底栖动物群落。