Abstract:

The data used in this paper were acquired at 19 quantitative dredging stations and 4 trawling stations during the three crusies of the 4th Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition for investigating the shallow sea benthos in Great Wall Bay, in the period from December 1987 to March 1988. Based on environmental characteristics, diversity of species composition and the eveness of interspecific distribution of individuals, cluster methods were used to divide the investigated area into three benthic community distribution areas. The structures of the various communities were further divided into 3 structure types, namely, high diversity, intermediate diversity and low diversity types. From the study of the relationship between community structure and environmental factors it was pointed out that there was an extremely close relationship between benthic communities structure and the stability of the bottom types and sediments, whereas in sea areas where the depth gradient is not large, there is no obvious relationship between benthic communities structure and depth gradient.

Key words: benthic community, community structure, deversity index, eveness, types of bottom (bottom soil), sediments