Asteroidea of the southern tip of South America, including Namuncurá Marine Protected Area at Burdwood Bank and Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina

FRAYSSE CINTIA; CALCAGNO JAVIER; PÉREZ ANALÍA

POLAR BIOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2018

0722-4060

In benthic communities, echinoderms are dominant in terms of abundance anddiversity, and Asteroidea play an important role in the structure of communities. In the present study, Asteroidea samples were collected from the recently created Namuncurá Marine Protected Area (N MPA) at Burdwood Bank (which has an average of 50-200 m depth and is delimited by abrupt slopes), the surrounding shelf break, and Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, on 24 stations performed at different depths and seabed, on board the oceanographic vessel ARA "Puerto Deseado". A total of 32 Asteroidea species were identified. The bathymetric ranges were extended for two of them, and the geographic distribution was updated for seven of them, being this their first record in the N MPA. The N MPA showed higher asteroid richness than Tierra del Fuego Province and the surrounding shelf break. Moreover, this area presented species shared with Antarctica, which enhances the importance of the Malvinas Current (formed mainly by the contribution of Antarctic waters) in the larval dispersal ofsome species. On the other hand, a high percentage of the species found at the NMPA present direct development with brooding females. The N MPA represents animportant biodiversity hotspot and is crucial to promote and continue the efforts on knowing more about the ecosystems in these latitudes, in order to contribute to the formulation of precise conservation strategies and enhance their protection.