Biodiversity variability of macrobenthic in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea between 2001 and 2011

In this study, we compared the biodiversity and ecological status of macrobenthos between 2001 and 2011 in terms of species composition, dominant species, abundance, biomass, diversity, and secondary productivity of macrobenthos in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. The results indicate that the species abundances, biomass, and diversity in spring 2011 were all lower than those in autumn 2000 and spring of 2001. Most of the dominant species have changed from 2001 to 2011, with the exception of the echinoderm Ophiura sarsii vadicola that was dominant in these years. Small-sized animal species have increased possibly due to gradual environment deterioration such as the pollution and the climate warmer.