Benthic Macrofauna Abundance Along a Transect from False Bay, San Juan Island

Abstract

Benthic macrofauna are a diverse group of organisms found in both deep-sea and shallow-water systems. Understanding the influence of biotic and abiotic factors in shallow-water systems can translate to further understanding inaccessible deep-sea community structure. This study observes the change in community structure as a function of ‘Altitude Above Mean Low-tide Sea-level’ (AAML) and distance from shore through push-core sediment sampling. In addition, this study identifies several specimens through genetic barcoding methods. The results show closer relationship among 90cm AAML sites than between any 90cm and 60cm site. Finally, specimens identified through barcoding could not be identified down to a species level. Future population genetic analyses will benefit from increasing accessibility to metagenetics and high-throughput sequencing.