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Macrobenthos–sediment relationships in a sandy bottom community off Mar del Plata, Argentina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2010

Florencia Arrighetti*
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Invertebrados, DBBE, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina CONICET, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Avenida Angel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Pablo E. Penchaszadeh
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Invertebrados, DBBE, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina CONICET, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Avenida Angel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F. Arrighetti, Laboratorio de Invertebrados, DBBE Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina email: flora@bg.fcen.uba.ar

Abstract

The aim of this study is to characterize the different macrozoobenthos communities in Mar del Plata waters (south-western Atlantic) on the basis of their abundance and habitat, and to determine how sediment characteristics, like the grain-size composition, affect macrobenthic community structure. Multivariate techniques indicated that benthic communities and sediments in the surveyed area were included into the following five well-defined groups: (1) a medium sand assemblage dominated by the bivalve Crassinella marplatensis and Diplodonta patagonica, the echinoderm Encope emarginata, the tanaidacean Bacescapseudes sp. and the polychaete Armandia loboi; (2) a medium to very fine sand assemblage dominated by ostracods, the tanaidacean Bacescapseudes sp., amphipods and polychaetes of the family Nephtyidae; (3) a fine to very fine sand assemblage dominated by the tanaidacean Bacescapseudes sp.; (4) a silt and fine sand assemblage dominated by polychaetes particularly Scolelepis sp. and individuals of the family Nephtyidae; and (5) a fine sand assemblage dominated by amphipods and the tanaidacean Bacescapseudes sp. These results revealed the patchy distribution of macrobenthic assemblages as a result of sediment characteristics and serve as baseline information for this area strongly subjected to trawling perturbations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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