Studies of benthic cnidarian populations along a transect off Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

ZAMPONI, M. O.; GENZANO, G. N.; ACUÑA, F. H.; EXCOFFON, A. C.

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF MARINE BIOLOGY

MAIK NAUKA/INTERPERIODICA/SPRINGER

Lugar: Kiev; Año: 1998 vol. 24 p. 7 - 13

1063-0740

This study deals with cnidarian taxocenes from the Argentine Continental Shelf: their faunal composition,distribution, and ecology. Benthic samples were obtained along a transect off the coast of BuenosAires Province at depths of 36 to 507 m and using a Piccard-type dredge. The cnidarian specimens were separatedin the laboratory into two groups: Hydrozoa (Eudendrium ramosum, Campanularia hincksii, C. agas,Obelia longa, O. longissima, Halecium beanii, Filellum antarcticum, Lafoea fruticosa, Sertularella conica,Symplectoscyphus subdichotomus, Synthecium robustum, Plumularia insignis, P. setacea, and Thecocarpuscanepa) and Anthozoa (Sphincteractis sanmatiensis, Limnactinia nuda, Actinostola crassicornis, Antholobaachates, Choriactis laevis, Anthothoe chilensis, Bolocera kerguelensis, Isosycionis alba, Phlyctenanthus australis,Urticinopsis crassa, and Epiactis georgiana). Data were processed using Jaccard?s index and clusteranalysis. As a result, three main groups were discriminated according to depth: the first one included all stationsfound between 36 and 70 m and was consistent with the Argentine Biogeographical Province, the secondincluded stations located between 80 and 200 m (Magellanic Biogeographical Province), and the last group wasrepresented only by the deepest station at 507 m. The bathymetric and temperature range of each species isgiven. Substrata of biological origin used by hydropolyps were analyzed. Porifera and Polychaeta were predominantsubstrata for the first group of stations; the second showed Polychaeta, Bryozoa, and Hydrozoa assubstrata; in the third group, only Anthozoa formed the substrate.