Structure of meiofaunal communities in an urban tropical sandy beach in Pernambuco, Brazil

Sandy beaches are among the most extensive coastal ecosystems in Brazil and constitute important buffer zones between terrestrial and marine environments. The present study aimed to analyze the distribution and spatiotemporal variation of the meiofaunal community of an urban tropical sandy beach in...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cavalcanti, Mariana F, Chaddad, Paula AS, Santos, Érika, Guilherme, Betânia C
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:México
Institución:UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
Repositorio:Ciencias Marinas
Idioma:inglés
español
OAI Identifier:oai:cienciasmarinas.com.mx:article/3294
Acceso en línea:https://www.cienciasmarinas.com.mx/index.php/cmarinas/article/view/3294
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:nematoda
interstitial community
beach sediment
meiofauna
eutrophication
comunidad intersticial
sedimento de playa
eutrofización
Descripción
Sumario:Sandy beaches are among the most extensive coastal ecosystems in Brazil and constitute important buffer zones between terrestrial and marine environments. The present study aimed to analyze the distribution and spatiotemporal variation of the meiofaunal community of an urban tropical sandy beach in northeastern Brazil with a particular focus on nematofauna. We set up 4 transects during 2 sampling periods to evaluate different beach zones. The meiofauna comprised 8 taxa, and the nematofauna consisted of 5 orders, 16 families, and 45 genera. The meiofaunal communities followed the qualitative-quantitative standards of those of other tropical sandy beaches in northeastern Brazil. The nematofaunal community showed variation in its composition and trophic structure between dry and rainy months, which were not significantly correlated with granulometric characteristics. This suggests that other variables may influence the structure of nematofaunal communities in Gaibu Beach. Further research on the biodiversity of the meiofaunal communities on sandy beaches in northeastern Brazil is urgently needed given the lack of available information of these environments and the extreme stress they are currently under.