Using high-level identification of macroinvertebrates for pollution assessments: an example from Gamak Bay, on the southern coast of Korea
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Although surveys of soft-bottom macrofauna are an important tool in assessing marine pollution,
identifying organisms to the species level is time-consuming and therefore costly. One solution is to identify
organisms to a higher taxonomic level. This study, using data from macrobenthic surveys in Gamak Bay, on the
southern coast of Korea, shows that abundances measured at higher taxonomic levels than species can be
adequate for pollution assessments. 'Second-stage' MDS and 'BIO-ENV' showed that aggregation of data to the
level of family produces results that are close to those based on species-level identification. In severely polluted
areas, a W statistic based on order-level aggregation was identical to that produced by species-level
identification.Although these results could be used to make a general recommendation that the family level, at
least, is a suitable level for faunal identification in pollution assessments, this will to a large extent depend on
the objectives of each individual investigation. In surveys to assess pollution, nonetheless, analyzing the benthic
community at a higher taxonomic level than species is efficient and cost-effective, and is sufficient to accomplish
the assessment’s objective.
identifying organisms to the species level is time-consuming and therefore costly. One solution is to identify
organisms to a higher taxonomic level. This study, using data from macrobenthic surveys in Gamak Bay, on the
southern coast of Korea, shows that abundances measured at higher taxonomic levels than species can be
adequate for pollution assessments. 'Second-stage' MDS and 'BIO-ENV' showed that aggregation of data to the
level of family produces results that are close to those based on species-level identification. In severely polluted
areas, a W statistic based on order-level aggregation was identical to that produced by species-level
identification.Although these results could be used to make a general recommendation that the family level, at
least, is a suitable level for faunal identification in pollution assessments, this will to a large extent depend on
the objectives of each individual investigation. In surveys to assess pollution, nonetheless, analyzing the benthic
community at a higher taxonomic level than species is efficient and cost-effective, and is sufficient to accomplish
the assessment’s objective.
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