Depth-Related Patterns in Benthic Community Condition Along an Estuarine Gradient in Chesapeake Bay, USA

Depth-related patterns in benthic community condition along an estuarine gradient in Chesapeake Bay, USA, were studied. For tests with three depth intervals, one-way ANOVAs and a post hoc Duncan's test were used. The Benthic Index of Benthic Integrity (B-IBI) was developed to assess the condition of macrobenthos communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Selection of benthic community matrices and metric scoring thresholds were habitat-dependent but using categorical scoring, comparisons between habitat types were possible. It was indicated that the estuaries or traditional waters were spatially and temporally complex. It was concluded that the ecological state of Chesapeake Bay subtidal benthic communities was adequately characterized by randomly sampling all depths without further stratification into shallow and deep-water regions.