At each site, 5 replicate cores were collected randomly from
a seagrass-vegetated area and a nonvegetated area using a 15-cmdiameter
(PVC) corer. Cores were inserted into the sediment to
a depth of 20 cm, resulting in a sampling area of 177 cm2 (2540 cm3
in volume). Five replicates were taken in each vegetation type in
2001, 2005, and 2006. Macrobenthic samples were sieved through
a 0.5-mm mesh sieve. All animals retained on the sieve were
transferred to polyethylene bags and fixed with a 10% seawater–
formalin solution. In the laboratory, macrobenthic animals were
sorted and transferred to 80% ethanol for identification and
counting. All organisms were classified into lower taxonomic levels
using available taxonomic keys, (see Appendix 1) and the number
of individuals in each taxon was counted.