Suprabenthic assemblages from Catalan beaches
An analysis of the zoological groups captured with suprabenthic sledges at a depth of 1 m (sampled area 50 m 2 ), has been carried out on 13 Catalan beaches (NE of Spain) with varying profile, exposure, and granulometry. A total of 22104 specimens, belonging to 10 different zoological groups, were o...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 1998 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:1860 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/1860 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Suprabenthos Catalan beaches North-western Mediterranean Zoological groups Suprabentos Playas catalanas Mediterráneo noroccidental Grupos zoológicos |
| Sumario: | An analysis of the zoological groups captured with suprabenthic sledges at a depth of 1 m (sampled area 50 m 2 ), has been carried out on 13 Catalan beaches (NE of Spain) with varying profile, exposure, and granulometry. A total of 22104 specimens, belonging to 10 different zoological groups, were obtained (mysids, amphipods, cumaceans, isopods, tanaidaceans, decapods, exuviae of cirripeds, copepods, pycnogonids, and teleosts). The great majority were arthropods and crustaceans, 94.2% being peracarids. The mean density was 34 ind.m -2 and the mean concentration of organic matter 2.89% of the AFDW sediments. Mysids, accounting for 59.9%, constitute the most important group in the Catalan suprabenthos at 1 m depth, followed by amphipods (28.7%). The same groups are also dominant at 5 and 10 m depths on the reflective Masnou beach (86.2% mysids and 8.8% amphipods). In view of the data obtained, we conclude that, at a depth of 1m, the observed faunistic differences are related to the degree of exposure, sand size, and dissipative-reflective character of the analyzed beaches. Moreover, beaches near to the rivers (but not next to) are more dense than remote ones. The hydrodynamics is the basic factor controlling distribution, both vertical and horizontal, of the suprabenthic communities on beaches. Finally, the data of this study are compared to those of the Atlantic suprabenthos obtained from other biotopes. The chief conclusion is that density values decrease with depth. |
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