Marine biodiversity associated to rocky shores and seagrasses in South America: a latitudinal comparison using the global Natural Geography in Shore Areas (NaGISA) project

MILOSLAVICH, P; KLEIN, E; CRUZ, JJ; CARBONINI, AK; HUCK, E.; KAZANDJAN, A.; ARMENTEROS, M.; ORTIZ, M; BAGUR CRETA, M; PALOMO, M. G.; BIGGATI, G.; BRUSTOLIN, M.; SORDO, L.; GOMEZ, D.; OSORNO, A.; SANTODMINGO, N.; CRUZ, M.

Yokohama, Japon

Congreso; 5th World Fisheries Congress; 2008

Census of Marine Life

Biodiversity, abundance and biomass associated to rocky shore and seagrass communities was studied in a latitudinal gradient from the northern Caribbean (Playa Baracoa, Cuba-11 N) to the southern South America (Golfo Nuevo, Argentina 42 S) using NaGISA protocol (Natural Geography in Shore Areas) developed by the Census of Marine Life Program. This project aims to produce local baseline data for biodiversity comparinsons and monitoring purposes within each country, as well as establish a large-scale latitudinal and longitudinal long term biodiversity gradient covering a large portion of the world coastal zones. A total of 7 sites were sampled between 2006-2007, 3 in the Caribbean, 3 in the Atlantic Ocean, and 1 in the Pacific Ocean. Of these sites, seagrasses were sampled in Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela (Thalassia testudinum) and Brazil (Halodule wrightii), while rocky shores were sampled in Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador and 2 sites in Argentina. Thalassia testudinum fress biomass reached up to 150 g/core (15 cm in diameter), while dry biomass of Halodule wrightii reached up to 3 g/core. The most abundant groups at the seagrasses were polychaetes, mollusks and peracarid crustaceans. The most abundant macroalgae at Puerto Madryn in the intertidal zones was Coralina officinalis (dry biomass of 640 g/m2).