01.06.2013 Views

State of the Bay Report 2010-Final - Anchor Environmental

State of the Bay Report 2010-Final - Anchor Environmental

State of the Bay Report 2010-Final - Anchor Environmental

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Table 8.1. Depth at each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sites sampled in <strong>2010</strong>.<br />

Small <strong>Bay</strong> Depth (m) Big <strong>Bay</strong> Depth (m) Langebaan Lagoon Depth (m)<br />

SB1 9.9 BB20 21.0 LL31 4.6<br />

SB2 8.0 BB21 10.2 LL32 4.0<br />

SB3 6.3 BB22 12.5 LL33 3.1<br />

SB8 11.1 BB25 11.6 LL34 4.9<br />

SB9 15.5 BB26 16.0 LL37 1.8<br />

SB10 7.4 BB29 16.6 LL38 6.3<br />

SB14 16.0 BB30 3.9 LL39 4.7<br />

SB15 13.0<br />

SB16 17.0<br />

8.3.2.1 Community structure and composition<br />

LL40 3.8<br />

LL41 3.3<br />

Changes in benthic species composition can be <strong>the</strong> first indicator <strong>of</strong> disturbance, as certain<br />

species are more sensitive (i.e. likely to decrease in abundance in response to stress) while o<strong>the</strong>rs<br />

are more tolerant <strong>of</strong> adverse conditions (and may increase in abundance in response to stress,<br />

taking up space or resources vacated by <strong>the</strong> more sensitive species).<br />

The statistical package PRIMER 6 (Clarke and Warwick 1993) was used to analyze <strong>the</strong> benthic<br />

macr<strong>of</strong>auna data. Cluster analysis was performed in order to identify ‘natural groupings’ between<br />

samples (sites). Prior to cluster analysis data were root-root (fourth root) transformed and<br />

converted to a similarity matrix using <strong>the</strong> Bray-Curtis similarity coefficient. A dendrogram and a<br />

multi-dimensional scaling plot (MDS) were constructed from <strong>the</strong> similarity matrix in order to<br />

graphically view similarities between sample sites (Figure 8.4). Samples (sites) with similar species<br />

composition and abundance cluster toge<strong>the</strong>r in such a plot, while those that are less similar are<br />

placed fur<strong>the</strong>r apart in <strong>the</strong> cluster diagrams and ordination plots. Stress values associated with MDS<br />

plots are influenced by reduced dimensionality and increasing quantity <strong>of</strong> data (Clarke and Warwick<br />

1994), both <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se factors resulting in higher stress values. Stress values

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!