INVESTIGADORES
SCIOSCIA Gabriela
artículos
Título:
Pelagic swarms and beach strandings of the squat lobster 1 Munida gregaria (Anomura: Munididae) in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego
Autor/es:
DIEZ, MARIANO; PEREZ-BARROS, PATRICIA; ROMERO, CAROLINA; SCIOSCIA, GABRIELA; TAPELLA, FEDERICO; CABREIRA, ARIEL; MADIROLAS, ADRIÁN; ANDREA RAYA REY; LOVRICH, GUSTAVO
Revista:
POLAR BIOLOGY
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Año: 2012 vol. 35 p. 973 - 983
ISSN:
0722-4060
Resumen:
The present article is the first formal record ofpelagic swarms and beach strandings of the squat lobsterMunida gregaria in the Beagle Channel, southern SouthAmerica. To describe size composition and natural diet ofbeach strandings and swarms, samples from strandings weretaken in April 2007, March 2008 and March 2010. Samplesfrom swarms were taken in May 2007 and April 2010. Also,during November 2008 and January 2009, two acousticsurveys were carried out to describe both, horizontal distributionand school metrics of swarms. Pelagic swarms andbeach strandings were composed of 100% individuals of themorph gregaria of M. gregaria. Mean size of males and females in both, beach strandings and swarms, were similar.The diet of pelagic M. gregaria was composed mainly ofcrustaceans, unicellular algae and small macroalgae, sedimentand particulate organic matter. Swarms of pelagicMunida took the shape of extended layers of varying densityand height. Their positions in the water column were alsovariable: swarms were found at different depths, from thesubsurface layer to near the sea bottom. Occasionally, somelarge swarms occupied most of the water column. In theBeagle Channel, SW winds during spring tides could be aforcing factor for M. gregaria strandings. The absence ofshoaling animals in the Beagle Channel between 1997 and2002 and the recent occurrence of swarms are coincidentwith their appearance in other locations in Patagonia. Inconsequence, we hypothesize that the factor influencing theformation of swarms must be acting at a regional scale.