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Murrells Inlet is on the northeast coast of South Carolina, situated between Huntington
Beach
and Garden City Beach. The inlet is framed by north and south jetties which stabilize the entrance to the inlet for boat traffic (Figure 1, at right). Fauna on rockycoasts, such as that provided by jetties and groins, is distinctly different from that found on sandy shorelines, mudflats, or marshlands. Construction on the north jetty began in October 1977, and the south jetty was completed in May 1980. Van Dolah et al. (1984) conducted a comprehensive study examining the effects of the jetty construction on invertebrate and fish communities was conducted immediately after construction, quarterly for the first year after construction, and again at yearly intervals through 1982. The intertidal invertebrate community of the South jetty was reassessed in February 2012 to examine community changes.
ORIGINAL STUDY
Brief methods: Van Dolah et al. (1984) performed line transect censuses, suction sampling, and quadrat photographing at six intertidal levels at four stations along each jetty (north and south) to identify specimens and quantify percent cover. Shannon-Wiener index for diversity was calculated.
CURRENT STUDY
The intertidal zone of the south jetty was sampled by hand in February 2012. Several individuals of all invertebrate species observed were collected and preserved. Specimens were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level.
COMPARISON
A total of 20 species were found in 7 phyla during the 2012 sampling effort. This is a marked decrease from the 58 species in 8 phyla found intertidally over the course of the historical study. Figure 2 displays the number of species observed per phyla in the historical and present-day sampling efforts. Figures 3 and 4 provide a further breakdown of the composition of the two communities. The historical data shows a community rich in amphipods and polychaetes while the modern community has a greater molluscan diversity. It is likely that sampling technique and ability played a large role in the difference in distribution of species throughout the phyla.
Only a small number of species were found to be overlapping in the two time points:
* The porifera sp. was found subtidally in the historical data but was included here to denote it's presence at both time periods.
This historical comparison was completed by Sarah Doty and Weatherly Meadors for Marine Invertebrate Zoology (BIOL 630 - Spring 2012) in the Graduate Program in Marine Biology at the College of Charleston.
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