Community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates in native and introduced mangroves of northern Beibu Gulf, China: Implication for restoring mangrove ecosystems

Introduced mangroves are widely used to restore mangrove ecosystems in South China. Results of potential impacts on indicative benthic macroinvertebrates are divergent. We explored the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates in the mangrove ecosystem of northern Beibu Gulf, China across four habitats: native Avicennia marina mangrove, introduced Laguncularia racemosa mangrove, native-introduced mixed mangrove, and unvegetated intertidal flat. Based on the Hill number, community structure was estimated from the dimensions of estimated species richness, diversity, evenness, and species composition similarity. Benthic macroinvertebrates in the unvegetated flat significantly differed from the other three assemblages in mangroves; introduced L. racemosa mangrove had relatively distinct benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage from the native A. marina and the mixed mangroves, with lower species richness and similarity but higher diversity and evenness. Considering the lack of unanimous conclusion of potential impact on benthic macroinvertebrates under complex species interactions, native mangroves should be of top priority in ecosystem restoration.

Automated summary

Introduced mangroves are widely used for mangrove ecosystem restoration in South China, but their potential impacts on benthic macroinvertebrates are still uncertain. This study explored the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates in the mangrove ecosystem of northern Beibu Gulf, China and found that introduced Laguncularia racemosa mangrove had higher diversity and evenness but lower species richness and similarity compared to native Avicennia marina and mixed mangroves. These findings suggest that native mangroves should be prioritized in ecosystem restoration due to the lack of consensus on potential impacts of introduced mangroves on benthic macroinvertebrates.