Preliminary study on meiofauna in Daya Bay of South China Sea in spring

The abundance,biomass and some biotic indices of meiofauna in Daya Bay were investigated,based on samplings obtained from 9 stations in Apr.2010 first time.The average abundance and biomass of total meiofauna amounted to(158.96±57.22)/cm2 and(94.31±33.40) μg/cm2 as dry weight,respectively,and the production reached(848.76±300.61) μg/(cm2·a).Among the 16 main meiofaunal groups sorted,free-living Nematoda dominated 97.64% on abundance and 65.83% on biomass,followed by Copepoda(0.91%) on abundance and Polychaeta(14.32%) on biomass,respectively.In vertical distribution of the average abundance in top 0-10cm sediments,49.82% of meiofauna was found in 0-2cm layer,Copepoda preferred to surfer layer and 75.19 percent was counted in 0-2cm layer,where 49.55% and 44.71% of Nematoda and Polychaeta were found respectively.There was no significant correlation between environmental parameters and abundance,biomass,and the abundance and biomass in the stations were different significantly.