Spatio-temporal distribution of meiofaunal assemblages and its relationship with environmental factors in a semi-enclosed bay

In order to reveal the spatio-temporal distribution of meiofaunal assemblages and its relationship with environmental factors in semi-enclosed bay habitats, meiofaunal and sediment samples were collected in February (winter), May (spring), August (summer) and November (autumn) 2014 in Jiaozhou Bay, China. A total of 20 meiofaunal taxa were identified. The most dominant group was free-living marine nematode, followed by benthic copepod. During the four sampling seasons, the values of meiofaunal average abundance were (912.3 +/- 603.1), (1576.4 +/- 659.5), (1074.6 +/- 417.6), (2152.4 +/- 1062.3) ind./10 cm(2) while those of biomass were (575.0 +/- 398.5), (874.3 +/- 518.4), (617.9 +/- 337.8), (1203.6 +/- 719.6) mu g dwt/10 cm(2), respectively. In terms of vertical distribution, meiofauna were mainly found in the (0-2) cm sediment layer (59.92%), followed by (2-5) cm layer (28.25%) and (5-8) cm layer (11.82%). Results of correlation analysis showed that bottom water temperature was the main factor influencing meiofaunal distribution and food source (sediment organic matter content) was the main factor influencing meiofaunal assemblages.