A Benthic Community

a benthic community
Winarsih
What is a benthic
community
The Benthic Community is made up of
organisms that live in and on the bottom of
the ocean floor. These organisms are known
as benthos. Benthos include worms, clams,
crabs, lobsters, sponges, and other tiny
organisms that live in the bottom sediments.
Benthos are divided into two groups, the
filter feeders and the deposit feeders. Filter
feeders such as clams and quahogs filter
their food by siphoning particles out of the
water. Deposit feeders, such as snails and
shrimp, ingest or sift through the sediment
and consume organic matter within it.
Lady crab
Lobster
Lobster
Winter flounder
Winter flounder
Winter flounder
Conditions
Before the age of deep-sea exploration scientists
believed that there could be no life in the absence
of energy from the sun. Since sunlight only
penetrates the first 3 0 m in coastal areas and
1 0 0 m in the open ocean, they believed there
was no life to be found on the ocean floor. What
they did not realize was that there is a steady
production of energy in the oceans in other forms
than direct sunlight. One source of energy or food
is the bodies of organisms that have died in the
upper sunlit layers of the sea. They settle
downward through the water column where they
can be consumed. There is a constant vertical
downflow of food or energy from the upper layers
of the water to the benthic community
Benthic animals
Benthic animals are much more abundant in the
shallower waters off the coast. In the shallow
water the dead food material is more abundant
because there is a higher population of
organisms near the surface in this area. In
these waters food also arrives from river
sediments. Once food has reached the sea
floor, currents carry this food and organisms
filter it without having to use their own energy
to go and get food. Another way organisms use
energy is by coming out at night and rising to
feed on upper-level organisms. Many large
organisms are formed as they feed on
microscopic food.
How do we investigate
benthos?
The benthic community is not easy to
investigate because you must first get to
the ocean floor to obtain samples. One
way we can observe the benthic
community is by scuba diving. Divers can
take photographs and sediment samples
that can be tested and observed in
laboratories
Trap
Another way that we investigate the
organisms is by using traps. Lobster
and oyster traps can help us keep
track of the populations of these
organisms. However these traps do
not give an accurate measures of
the populations or species
Dredging
O ne of the most useful way to investigate this

community is by dredging. In the benthic community
many of the organisms live underneath the surface
of ocean floor. Therefore water sampling, although
useful, does not give an accurate picture of the
benthic population. With dredging, sediment is taken
up with water and filtered so that all animals in the
community can be observed and accounted for.
the Narragansett Bay

Benthic communities can be observed by
looking at the sediments at the seafloor. With
new technology we are able to drill through the
ocean floor and bring up sediment columns that
can be observed. These columns can tell us a
great deal about the intake and output of
different elements. This helps us understand
how this ecosystem works and stays in balance.
These columns also tell us where in the
sediment bed organisms are found and how
they effect the community. Sediment-profile
images, such as the ones below from the
Narragansett Bay, help characterize the
benthos and their environment
Sediment-profile image from the lower Providence River near

Conimicut Point showing degraded benthic habitat quality. In
this image, a relatively thin surface layer of lighter-colored,
oxidized sediment overlies black, anoxic sediment at depth.
Anoxic sediments having a thin redox layer occur in typical
in areas with high rates of organic loading and periodic low
dissolved oxygen levels in near-bottom waters. The white
shells near the sediment surface are numerous individuals of
the opportunistic bivalve Mulinia lateralis (little surf clam).
Courtesy
SAIC,
Newport,
RI
Why are benthos important

to the biological community
of
estuaries?
Benthos play a critical role in the functioning of
estuaries. Benthic species are a diverse group that
are a major link in the food chain. Filter feeders in the
benthic community pump large amount of water
through their bodies. As they filter this water for food,
they remove sediments and organic matter, cleaning
the water. Organic matter that is not used within the
water-column is deposited on the bottom of the ocean
floor. It is then remineralized by benthic organisms
into nutrients which are given back into the water
column. This remineralization of organic matter is an
important source of nutrients to the ocean and is
critical in maintaining the high primary production
rates of estuaries.
What types of benthos live

in Narragansett Bay?
O rganisms living in Narragansett Bay live
in different regions of the bay depending
upon the location's physical conditions.
Changing salinity, currents, depth, and
other factors affect where the organism
live. O rganisms adapt to their
community. Although there are some
regions where boundaries separate
communities, other regions are more
integrated without distinct boundaries.
Environment Conditions
In the Lower Bay temperatures are lower
and salinity is higher. O rganisms here are
well adapted to live in these conditions. In
this area beds of sea scallops, ocean
quahogs, surf clams, blue mussels, and
other marine species are found.
Mussels
oysters,
The Central Bay has two different communities. In the deep

water areas, sediments are soft and salinity is high. Here live
deposit-feeding organisms, including small clams and worms.
The other area of the central bay has sandy or silt/sand
sediments, is at a shallower depth and salinity is also high.
Here small tube-dwelling organisms are found and winter
flounder flourish. This area is rich in quahogs, Rhode Island's
most abundant commercially important species in the bay.
A variety of oysters, quahogs, and soft-shelled clams are
found in the Upper Bay. The Upper Bay has fluctuating
salinity, lower oxygen levels, and is affected by severe water
pollution. These conditions have drastically changed this part
of the bay and have caused the organisms to move to other
regions of the bay. It is hard to monitor an organism's
population in this community.
Quahogs
Quahogs are the most abundant benthic animal of

their size in Narragansett Bay. They are distributed
throughout the bay in a wide range of sediments
and depths. They are found primarily in mud
containing sand, shells and small rocks. They are
least
abundant
in
sediments
with
large
percentages of clay. Pollutants in the Bay affect the
quahog harvesting because in highly polluted
water, quahogs can carry bacteria, causing a range
of health problems for humans.

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a benthic community

O ne of the most useful way to investigate this

the Narragansett Bay

Sediment-profile image from the lower Providence River near

Why are benthos important

What types of benthos live

The Central Bay has two different communities. In the deep

Quahogs are the most abundant benthic animal of

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