Quantifying macrobenthic assemblages on subtidal soft sediments of Mejillones Bay (northern of Chile) using underwater photography


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jlaudien [ at ] awi-bremerhaven.de

Abstract

Associations of macro-epibenthic invertebrate communities from soft bottoms at Chacaya (Mejillones Bay, Northern Chile) were analyzed from photo-transects. Species richness and diversity were studied in relation to water depth (6, 12, 15, and 30m). The study revealed a species list comprising 22 taxa. Mean species richness differed significantly between stations (F3,126 = 4.36, P = 0.003). K-dominance curves showed higher diversity in the 15 m stations, where red algae (Rodymenia sp.) structured the biotope, than in pure soft sediment habitats. A bathymetric pattern was evident showing increasing species richness from 6 to 15m. Then, richness decrease at the deepest station with in turn shows the lower oxygen concentration. The shallowest station is dominated by crustaceans, mainly the species of barnacles. At the 12m station crustaceans are still abundant, and additionally the sea urchin Arbacia spatuligera. The 15m transect is dominated by mollusks and crustaceans, while the deepest station is mainly inhabited by mollusks and polychaetes. The comparison with studies conducted in the same area during the last five years, with a van Veen grab showed that highly mobile epibenthic species like Pleuroncodes monodon and Mursia gaudichaudii and rare species like the gastropod Thais chocolata are difficult to detect with grab-sampling. Our study revealed that underwater photography is a useful "non-destructive" method for obtaining information about conspicuous epifaunal taxa.



Item Type
Conference (Poster)
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Published
Event Details
Congreso de Cs del Mar, Coquimbo, Chile..
Eprint ID
10524
Cite as
Rojo, M. , Montanares, E. , Oliva, M. and Laudien, J. (2004): Quantifying macrobenthic assemblages on subtidal soft sediments of Mejillones Bay (northern of Chile) using underwater photography , Congreso de Cs del Mar, Coquimbo, Chile. .


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