TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of organic matter inputs and grain size on soft-bottom macrobenthic biodiversity in the upwelling ecosystem of central Chile
AU - Soto, Eulogio
AU - Quiroga, Eduardo
AU - Ganga, Benjamín
AU - Alarcón, Guillermo
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the financial support provided by the Science and Technology National Commission belonging to the Education Ministry from Chile (FONDECYT, Grant N° 11121487) to develop this research. Thanks also go to Francisco Gallardo (PUCV), Williams Caballero and the crew of vessel ‘Normita II’ for their important assistance on each of the fieldworks. Finally, the authors specially thank Dr. Gordon Paterson for his valuable input and English improvements to the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
PY - 2017/6/1
Y1 - 2017/6/1
N2 - Soft-bottom macrobenthic communities on the continental shelf of central Chile were characterised, in number, by polychaetes, followed by amphipods, bivalves and cumaceans, while biomass was dominated by Amphioplus magellanicus (Ophiuroidea). The standing stocks followed a parabolic pattern relative to depth (highest at mid-shelf) but the species were divided into inshore (22 to 50 m) and offshore (80 to 140 m) assemblages, based on the similarity in species composition. Diversity (Es) was highest in the shallow assemblage and lowest at the deeper locations, suggesting that the decline in oxygen offshore was impacting the numbers of species. Dominance followed the opposite pattern, with greatest dominance at the deepest two stations. The distribution of sizes at each site, measured as normalised biomass size spectra (NBSS), was not different among the sites, although total biomass was concentrated in the single large ophiuroid at the deepest location. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) indicated that diversity and number of species were mainly related to the organic content (i.e. total organic carbon) and sediment composition (grain size). Therefore, food supply from primary production and the physical properties of the seafloor are thought to be the main forces structuring the macrobenthos biodiversity and distribution.
AB - Soft-bottom macrobenthic communities on the continental shelf of central Chile were characterised, in number, by polychaetes, followed by amphipods, bivalves and cumaceans, while biomass was dominated by Amphioplus magellanicus (Ophiuroidea). The standing stocks followed a parabolic pattern relative to depth (highest at mid-shelf) but the species were divided into inshore (22 to 50 m) and offshore (80 to 140 m) assemblages, based on the similarity in species composition. Diversity (Es) was highest in the shallow assemblage and lowest at the deeper locations, suggesting that the decline in oxygen offshore was impacting the numbers of species. Dominance followed the opposite pattern, with greatest dominance at the deepest two stations. The distribution of sizes at each site, measured as normalised biomass size spectra (NBSS), was not different among the sites, although total biomass was concentrated in the single large ophiuroid at the deepest location. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) indicated that diversity and number of species were mainly related to the organic content (i.e. total organic carbon) and sediment composition (grain size). Therefore, food supply from primary production and the physical properties of the seafloor are thought to be the main forces structuring the macrobenthos biodiversity and distribution.
KW - Benthic diversity
KW - Community structure
KW - Organic content
KW - Southeast Pacific
KW - Spatial distribution
KW - Terrigeneous inputs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962034267&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12526-016-0479-0
DO - 10.1007/s12526-016-0479-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84962034267
VL - 47
SP - 433
EP - 450
JO - Marine Biodiversity
JF - Marine Biodiversity
SN - 1867-1616
IS - 2
ER -