Functional analysis by trophic guilds of macrobenthic community structure in Dublin Bay, Ireland

The community structure of Dublin Bay, Ireland was analysed using trophic guilds of the benthic macrofauna. This approach afforded stronger demarcation than a previous multivariate analysis on a taxonomic basis of the pattern of communities, in which tidal height and sediment type appeared to be the two most important abiotic factors for the distribution of the benthos. Graphical dominance analysis (abundance/biomass comparison and partial dominance curves) detected disturbance effects, but did not distinguish between natural and anthropogenic (pollution) stress in this intertidal system. Derived numerical values (W-scores) provided greater discrimination, particularly used in conjunction with the trophic analysis, but must be interpreted with caution. However, the methods were useful for evaluating structural dynamics and changes in the trophic communities. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.