South Brazilian marine fauna in the Río de la Plata estuary: discussing the barrier hypothesis

MIANZAN, H.; ACHA, M.; GUERRERO, R. A.; RAMIREZ, F.C.; SORARRAIN, D. R.; SIMIONATO, C. G.; BORUS, R.

San Andrés Isla, Colombia

Congreso; Colacmar IX (Congreso Latinoamericano en Ciencias Marinas); 2001

Asociacion Latinoamericana de Investigadores de Ciencias del Mar

The Argentine biogeographical Province is divided into two districts at the latitude of the Río de la Plata mouth. There is no agreement about the role of the riverine freshwaters as a biogeographical barrier. Our results, based on field oceanographic, meteorological and biological data, and historical river discharge and biological reports analysis, support the hypothesis of an intermittent biogeographical barrier for the influence of the Río de la Plata on the continental shelf, forced by climatic variations in wind and discharge patterns.