[OANNES Foro] Diversity of faunal assemblages associated with ribbed mussel beds along the South American coast

[Mario Cabrejos]

Marine Ecology

·         First published: 30 August 2016 

·         DOI: 10.1111/maec.12301 


 


Diversity of faunal assemblages associated with ribbed mussel beds along the
South American coast: relative roles of biogeography and bioengineering


·         Roger D. Sepúlveda, Patricio A. Camus, Carlos A. Moreno


0.        


Abstract


Benthic organisms are among the most diverse and abundant in the marine
realm, and some species are a key factor in studies related to
bioengineering. However, their importance has not been well noted in
biogeographic studies. Macrofaunal assemblages associated with subtidal beds
of the ribbed mussel (Aulacomya atra) along South America were studied to
assess the relationship between their diversity patterns and the proposed
biogeographic provinces in the Southeastern Pacific and Southwestern
Atlantic Oceans. Samples from ribbed mussel beds were obtained from 10 sites
distributed from the Peruvian coast (17°S) to the Argentinean coast (41°S).
The sampling included eight beds in the Pacific and two in the Atlantic and
the collections were carried out using five 0.04 m2quadrants per site.
Faunal assemblages were assessed through classification analyses using
binary and log-transformed abundance data. Variation in the size and density
of mussels, and in the species richness, abundance and structure of their
faunal assemblages were tested using a permutational multivariate analysis
of variance. Faunal assemblages showed a north–south latitudinal gradient
along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Binary and abundance data showed
a difference in the resulting clustering arrangement of Pacific sites
between 40°S and 44°S, indicating a pattern of continuity in the species
distribution associated with biological substrates. At a regional scale, the
distribution of species along the South American coast matched the general
provincial pattern shown by prior studies, which show two biogeographic
units on the Pacific coast separated by an intermediate (probably
transitional) zone and a single province on the Atlantic coast extending up
to Northern Argentina. Biological substrates such as ribbed mussel beds play
an important ecological role by making a similar habitat type available on a
large scale for a variety of invertebrate species. Despite such habitat
homogeneity, however, the associated fauna exhibit marked distribution
breaks, suggesting strong constraints on dispersal. This therefore suggests
that macrofaunal assemblages could possibly be used as biogeographic
indicators.

 



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