Effects of severe oxygen depletion on macrobenthos in the Pomeranian Bay (southern Baltic Sea): a case study in a shallow, sublittoral habitat characterised by low species richness

Severe oxygen depletion was detected in shallow parts of the Pomeranian Bay (southern Baltic Sea) for the first time in July/August 1994. A combination of extraordinary meteorological and hydrographical conditions along with generally high nutrient loads in this coastal area is thought to have led to extensive hypoxia/anoxia. Effects of this event on the macrobenthos were studied by comparing the community structure before and after summer 1994 at four sites which differed in degree of oxygen deficiency. Observed changes in the macrobenthos at three stations were attributed mainly to the hypoxia/anoxia event in summer 1994. Macrobenthos recovery after the oxygen depletion did not follow the commonly described succession pattern after a disturbance event, which is characterised by a mass recruitment of opportunistic species together with a rapid species turnover. At station 2, the most severely affected site, species number, total abundance, and total biomass of macrobenthos decreased significantly after the oxygen deficiency event, and recolonisation was still not complete two years later. Stations 1 and 3, which were moderately affected, showed almost complete recovery with respect to species composition and abundance within two years, but biomass was still lower. While recolonisation by juvenile and adult stages from nearby unimpacted coastal areas occurred at stations 1 and 3, succession was dominated by post-larval colonisation from planktonic dispersal at station 2. Station 4 was not affected by oxygen depletion and showed only small variation of community structure. The generally very slow recovery of amphipods at all three affected stations and even of the oligochaetes (Tubificoides (Peloscolex) benedeni and Heterochaeta (Tubifex) costata) at station 2 further underline the severity of this oxygen deficiency in Pomeranian Bay sediments.