The structure of macrozoobenthic communities as an environmental status indicator in the Gulf of Gdańsk (the Outer Puck Bay)

Summary An attempt is made to use long-term (1979–2014) macrobenthos data series to derive insights on changes in abiotic conditions and on potential effects of long-term macrobenthos variability on food availability for fish and wintering waterfowl. The data were collected from a small embayment, protected as a NATURA 2000 area, functioning as a fishing ground important for the local community and as a site of diverse commercial developments. The analysis showed a drastic reduction of the macrobenthos abundance and biomass, which could have been related to oxygen deficiency; on the other hand, recolonisation processes have also been observed.