Abstract:[Objectives] Yangshan Port is the world’s largest container port. The construction of Yangshan Port began in 2002 and the fourth phase of construction completed in 2017. More than 8 000 m of wharf artificial shoreline were formed, due to the sequential construction of the first to fourth phases of the wharf, the connection of islands and reefs, the reclamation of land, and the docking of ocean-going ships operated by the port. At the mean time, the ecological environment of the port sea area has gradually changed accordingly, resulting in marine biological communities including intertidal macroinvertebrates. This paper compared the ecological characteristics and changes of macrobenthic invertebrates in the artificial intertidal zone of Yangshan Port in the early (2009﹣2010) and post (2021﹣2022) stages of phase IV construction, to provide basic data for evaluating the impact of human activities, such as the operation of Yangshan Port on the macrobenthic invertebrate community in the intertidal zone of the wharf, and the protection of marine biodiversity and the construction of green ports. [Methods] Intertidal macrobenthos was collected at Yangshan Port Artificial Wharf and Dayangshan Artificial Wharf in December 2021, March, July, and September 2022 (Fig. 2), according to the standard protocol for marine studies (GB 12763.6-2008). The temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and salinity of the seawater were measured on-site according to the standard protocol for marine studies (GB 17378.4-2007). Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H), Margalef diversity index (H′), Simpson richness index (D), and Pielou evenness index (E) were used to measure the biodiversity of the macrobenthic invertebrate community. Primer 5.0 was used to calculate the biodiversity index of the macrobenthic invertebrate community in the intertidal zone of Yangshan Port and draw the abundance/biomass comparison curve (ABC curve). Canoco 5.0 was used to analyze the relationship between macrobenthic invertebrates and environmental factors. [Results] The results showed that the species of macroinvertebrates in the artificial intertidal zone of Yangshan Port increased from 17 species at the early stage of the phase IV construction of the port to 28 species (Table 1), among which mollusks increased from 8 to 15 species, arthropods increased from 7 to 9 species, intestinal animals increased to 3 species, and annelids decreased to 1 species. The invasive Chthamalus challenger disappeared, and Amphibalanus amphitrite reappeared as the dominant species. The highest abundance of the artificial intertidal community increased from 6 333.30 ± 1 495.49 ind/m2 to 6 517.33 ± 119.67 ind/m2, and the highest biomass increased from 1 977.04 ± 281.87 g/m2 to 3 724.69 ± 940.94 g/m2 (Fig. 4). According to the analysis of the biodiversity of macrobenthic invertebrate communities (Fig. 5), the annual average values of Shannon-Wiener index in the Yangshan Port Artificial Wharf and Dayangshan Artificial Wharf were 1.556 and 1.456, respectively. The biodiversity of the Yangshan Port Artificial Wharf was higher than at the early stage of phase IV construction, and the biodiversity of the Dayangshan Artificial Wharf decreased significantly. According to the ABC curve analysis (Fig. 6), the community structure of macrobenthic invertebrates in the artificial intertidal zone of Yangshan Port Artificial Wharf was unstable and disturbed to a certain extent. The results of the correlation analysis between the density of the macroinvertebrate community in the artificial intertidal zone of Yangshan Port and the main environmental factors (Table 2) showed that temperature, salinity, and total suspended matter concentration were the main environmental factors affecting macroinvertebrates (Fig. 7). [Conclusion] Compared with the early stage of the phase IV construction, the species composition of the macrobenthic invertebrate community in the artificial intertidal zone of the Yangshan Port has changed. The community biodiversity index and ABC curve analysis results showed that the ecological environment of the Yangshan Port was at a medium pollution level. The macrobenthic invertebrate community in the artificial intertidal zone of the wharf is still in an unstable state and faces the risk of human activities. Therefore, it is still necessary to regularly monitor the macrobenthic invertebrate community in the Yangshan Port.