Macrobenthic subtidal communities of Northern Patagonia: a focus on the changes in echinoderm populations

LÁZARI, CAROLINA; EPHERRA, LUCÍA; MORSAN, ENRIQUE; RUBILAR, TAMARA

CAHIERS DE BIOLOGIE MARINE

CAHIERS DE BIOLOGIE MARINE

Lugar: Roscoff; Año: 2022 vol. 63 p. 199 - 211

0007-9723

The study of benthic communities comprises a valuable resource which can be applied in securinghigh quality environmental knowledge and data. Benthic communities in the Northwest of San Matías Gulfhave been studied as the by-catch of commercial fisheries. The phylum Echinodermata is usually found to bea dominant group within these communities, but its diversity and distribution have not been studied in the NWof the San Matías Gulf. The phyla Echinodermata, Mollusca, and Arthropoda were recorded as the main taxawithin the El Sótano and Bajo Oliveira benthic communities in both years of study (2011 and 2014). Significantdifferences were observed between the two years, mainly as regards the number of species (S). Seven speciesof echinoderms were recorded, and the spatial distribution of the species was patchy, indicating varying degreesof distribution. The size distribution of all species of echinoderms was multi-modal. The observed changes inthe two years in the benthic communities analyzed in this study may be a result of natural causes, rather thananthropogenic causes.