Marine invertebrate and seaweed biodiversity of continental coastal Ecuador

CÁRDENAS-CALLE, MARITZA; MORA, ELBA; TORRES, GENOVEVA; PÉREZ-CORREA, JULIÁN; BIGATTI, GREGORIO; SIGNORELLI, JAVIER; CORONEL, JORGE

Biodiversity Data Journal

Pensoft

Año: 2020 vol. 8 p. 1 - 52

1314-2836

This study summarises the diversity of living macroinvertebrates and seaweeds from theintertidal and subtidal rocky shores along Ecuadorian continental coast. Benthicmacroinvertebrate communities and seaweeds were quantified over quadrants (50 × 50cm) randomly placed on transects of 50 m length. A checklist of 612 species wasgenerated: 479 species of macroinvertebrates and 133 species of seaweeds. Groupsrecorded were Mollusca (184 species), Cnidaria (70), Arthropoda (68), Annelida (60),Echinodermata (42), Chordata (18), Bryozoa (13), Porifera (22), Sipuncula (2),Brachiopoda and Platyhelminthes (only identified as morphotypes). The seaweeds wererepresented by Rhodophyta (78), Chlorophyta (37), Ochrophyta (13), Cyanobacteria (5)and 19 biotic complexes. Furthermore, 22 new taxa and six alien species were recordedfrom the intertidal zone. This study provides the first large scale report of benthiccommunities in different marine coastal ecosystems in mainland Ecuador, covering 1,478km of protected areas and 382 km of non-protected areas. The highest benthic diversitywas registered in the protected areas and rocky shores from the intertidal zone. The biological data, herein reported, are useful for a long-term monitoring programme toevaluate the status of conservation and to detect rapid changes in the benthic biodiversityfrom coastal areas.