Analyzing the relationship of meiobenthic community with geochemical factors in a coastal rocky shore of the East/Japan Sea, Korea

A study was performed to understand the geochemical factors that influence the spatial distribution of the meiobenthic community on the rocky shore of Hujeong, a typical eastern coast in Korea. Eleven sediment samples were collected from the study area; meiobenthos were separated from each other and analyzed for characteristics such as grain size, total organic carbon, and major and trace elements. A total of 9 meiobenthic animal groups were identified, and benthic harpacticoids were found to predominate in most samples with a mean meiofaunal density of 680 indiv 10 cm-2 and biomass of 294 μg 10 cm-2. The principal component analysis (PCA), constructed considering both biotic and abiotic variables, accounted for 60.3% of the total variance. The PC 1 axis explained 46.5% of the total variance and was correlated with nematodes. The PC 2 axis explained 13.8% of the remaining variance and was correlated with polychaetes, ostracods, and halacaloideans. The score plot obtained from the PCA, helped identify three main groups in the benthic environment. Group-I is associated with the nearby beach stations that are affected by terrestrial inputs. Group-II is categorized as stations around sandy sediments and bed rocks, which are relatively stable areas. Group-III includes stations affected by external, offshore environmental factors.