Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration

BackgroundThe mangrove ecosystem has been severely threatened by the invasive species Spartina alterniflora for a long time. The macrobenthos diversity, as a biological indicator for assessing ecosystem sensitivity, can respond sensitively to the removal of the invasive S. alterniflora. Traditional...

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Main Authors: Lin Lin, Yuqing Guo, Guangzhao Wang, Shilong Feng, Kai Liu, Mingcheng Hu, Mouxin Ye, Chunxi Cao, Ruohai Chen, Silong Ding, Zenghui Peng, Fenfen Ji, Yi-Jia Shih
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1581442/full
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author Lin Lin
Yuqing Guo
Guangzhao Wang
Shilong Feng
Kai Liu
Mingcheng Hu
Mouxin Ye
Chunxi Cao
Ruohai Chen
Silong Ding
Zenghui Peng
Fenfen Ji
Yi-Jia Shih
author_facet Lin Lin
Yuqing Guo
Guangzhao Wang
Shilong Feng
Kai Liu
Mingcheng Hu
Mouxin Ye
Chunxi Cao
Ruohai Chen
Silong Ding
Zenghui Peng
Fenfen Ji
Yi-Jia Shih
author_sort Lin Lin
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThe mangrove ecosystem has been severely threatened by the invasive species Spartina alterniflora for a long time. The macrobenthos diversity, as a biological indicator for assessing ecosystem sensitivity, can respond sensitively to the removal of the invasive S. alterniflora. Traditional morphological method has been commonly used to study macrobenthos diversity. However, it is difficult to comprehensively and accurately assess using traditional morphological method alone. Few studies have systematically assessed the effectiveness of environmental DNA in monitoring the diversity of macrobenthos in mangrove ecosystems.MethodsTraditional morphological method and eDNA metabarcoding (using COI primers) were combined to analyze changes in macrobenthos diversity in September (before S. alterniflora removal), October (after S. alterniflora removal but before mangrove planting), and December (after S. alterniflora removal and mangrove planting) of 2022 at the Quanzhou Bay Mangrove Wetland Nature Reserve, Fujian Province, China.ResultsThe results showed that 26 species were identified using traditional morphological method, while 212 species were identified through eDNA metabarcoding, especially more Arthropod were detected. However, no species were found to be common between the two methods at the species level. In terms of abundance, Arthropods and Annelids were the dominant groups for two methods, both 28.38% in the traditional morphological method and 38.38% and 32.94% in the eDNA metabarcoding, respectively. Additionally, the traditional morphological method indicated that following the removal of S. alterniflora, species richness, density, biomass, and diversity indices of macrobenthos initially declined, but subsequently showed a consistent recovery trend.DiscussionOur study suggests that eDNA metabarcoding has tremendous potential to monitor macrobenthos diversity, but shows low consistency in species with traditional method. For broader application in macrobenthos diversity using eDNA metabarcoding, further optimization is needed. Additionally, the results suggested that after the removal of S. alterniflora, macrobenthos diversity initially declined but gradually recovered, and long-term monitoring is warranted in order to better understand the changes in macrobenthos diversity with planting of mangroves.
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spelling doaj-art-05770e9a0870440c80348e490e489ffd2025-08-20T02:29:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-04-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15814421581442Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restorationLin Lin0Yuqing Guo1Guangzhao Wang2Shilong Feng3Kai Liu4Mingcheng Hu5Mouxin Ye6Chunxi Cao7Ruohai Chen8Silong Ding9Zenghui Peng10Fenfen Ji11Yi-Jia Shih12Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, ChinaFisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, ChinaFisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, ChinaFisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, ChinaFisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, ChinaFisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, ChinaMangrove Conservation Foundation, Shenzhen, ChinaMangrove Conservation Foundation, Shenzhen, ChinaQuanzhou Bay Estuary Wetland Nature Reserve Development Center, Quanzhou Forestry Bureau, Quanzhou, ChinaQuanzhou Bay Estuary Wetland Nature Reserve Development Center, Quanzhou Forestry Bureau, Quanzhou, ChinaHunan Shuitiandi Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Changsha, ChinaFisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, ChinaSustainable Ocean Governance Centre, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, TaiwanBackgroundThe mangrove ecosystem has been severely threatened by the invasive species Spartina alterniflora for a long time. The macrobenthos diversity, as a biological indicator for assessing ecosystem sensitivity, can respond sensitively to the removal of the invasive S. alterniflora. Traditional morphological method has been commonly used to study macrobenthos diversity. However, it is difficult to comprehensively and accurately assess using traditional morphological method alone. Few studies have systematically assessed the effectiveness of environmental DNA in monitoring the diversity of macrobenthos in mangrove ecosystems.MethodsTraditional morphological method and eDNA metabarcoding (using COI primers) were combined to analyze changes in macrobenthos diversity in September (before S. alterniflora removal), October (after S. alterniflora removal but before mangrove planting), and December (after S. alterniflora removal and mangrove planting) of 2022 at the Quanzhou Bay Mangrove Wetland Nature Reserve, Fujian Province, China.ResultsThe results showed that 26 species were identified using traditional morphological method, while 212 species were identified through eDNA metabarcoding, especially more Arthropod were detected. However, no species were found to be common between the two methods at the species level. In terms of abundance, Arthropods and Annelids were the dominant groups for two methods, both 28.38% in the traditional morphological method and 38.38% and 32.94% in the eDNA metabarcoding, respectively. Additionally, the traditional morphological method indicated that following the removal of S. alterniflora, species richness, density, biomass, and diversity indices of macrobenthos initially declined, but subsequently showed a consistent recovery trend.DiscussionOur study suggests that eDNA metabarcoding has tremendous potential to monitor macrobenthos diversity, but shows low consistency in species with traditional method. For broader application in macrobenthos diversity using eDNA metabarcoding, further optimization is needed. Additionally, the results suggested that after the removal of S. alterniflora, macrobenthos diversity initially declined but gradually recovered, and long-term monitoring is warranted in order to better understand the changes in macrobenthos diversity with planting of mangroves.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1581442/fullmacrobenthosmangroveenvironmental DNA metabarcodingbiodiversityQuanzhou Bay
spellingShingle Lin Lin
Yuqing Guo
Guangzhao Wang
Shilong Feng
Kai Liu
Mingcheng Hu
Mouxin Ye
Chunxi Cao
Ruohai Chen
Silong Ding
Zenghui Peng
Fenfen Ji
Yi-Jia Shih
Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration
Frontiers in Marine Science
macrobenthos
mangrove
environmental DNA metabarcoding
biodiversity
Quanzhou Bay
title Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration
title_full Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration
title_fullStr Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration
title_full_unstemmed Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration
title_short Changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive Spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration
title_sort changes in macrobenthos communities during the invasive spartina alterniflora removal and mangrove restoration
topic macrobenthos
mangrove
environmental DNA metabarcoding
biodiversity
Quanzhou Bay
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1581442/full
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