Chapter 9 - Taxonomic and functional approach of subtidal macrobenthic communities in the Bahía Blanca Estuary (Argentina). In: Fiori SM, Protolongo PD (eds) The Bahía Blanca Estuary: Ecology and Biodiversity.

BRAVO, ME; CARCEDO, MC; DOS SANTOS, EP; FIORI, SM

The Bahía Blanca Estuary: Ecology and Biodiversity

SPRINGER

Año: 2021; p. 215 - 251

The macrobenthic communities in the soft-bottom subtidal areas of the Bahía Blanca Estuary are dominated by polychaetes, crustaceans, and mollusks. Species richness, abundance, biomass, and taxonomic and functional diversity of the macrobenthic communities vary between the myxohaline and euhaline zones. These biological descriptors of the macrobenthic communities also vary between zones located near urban and industrial effluent discharges compared to those located farther away. For the whole area studied, 155 morphospecies are listed, with dominance of the polychaetes Nicolea sp. and Leodamas verax in the myxohaline zone, Terebellides totae in the middle zone, and Axiothella sp. and the bivalve Corbula patagonica in the euhaline zone. Also, the polychaete Laeonereis acuta was dominant in the vicinity of sewage discharges. Most organisms are deposit-feeders and lack calcified bodies. There are more small-sized (