Abundance, Dry Weight Biomass of Meiofauna and Their Influencing Factors in Five Typical Mangrove Habitats in Dongzhai Harbor, Hainan Province

To understand the community characteristics, such as the abundance and biomass of meiofauna, and their influencing factors in different typical mangrove habitats, an investigation was carried out on understory meiofauna and its sedimentary environment in five typical mangrove forests in Hainan Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve, China in November 2020. A total of 17 meiofauna groups were identified. Nematoda and Copepoda were the first and second dominant groups with relative abundance of 77.79% and 15.65%. The average abundance and biomass of meiofauna were (487.9±134.0) ind./10 cm² and (415.0±128.1) μg/10 cm², respectively. Meiofauna abundance was not significantly different but meiofauna biomass was significantly different among the five mangrove forests. There was no significant correlation between the abundance and biomass of meiofauna and environmental factors. Community structure of meiofauna was significantly different among the five mangrove forests. The combination of "skewness coefficient+content of Chlorophyll a" could best explain the community structure.