Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:36:58.289Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Benthic biodiversity off the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan (Argentina, south-west Atlantic)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2012

Romina Centurión  and
Juan López Gappa
Romina Centurión
Affiliation:
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1405DJR, Argentina
Juan López Gappa*
Affiliation:
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1405DJR, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: J. López Gappa, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1405DJR, Argentina email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The analysis of changes in benthic community structure using multivariate techniques has been successfully applied to the detection and monitoring of impacts caused by oil related activities. A survey to assess the status of the benthos was performed prior to a scheduled exploratory drilling at Banco Sarmiento, a shoal located off the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan (south-west Atlantic). The aims of this study are to provide baseline data about the composition and structure of the subtidal macrobenthic assemblages, to analyse the relationships between biodiversity and environmental variables, and to compare its benthic assemblages with those of neighbouring areas. Multivariate analyses classified the stations in two major groups, one composed of relatively shallow stations with coarse sediments dominated by filter-feeders, and the other consisting of stations with a high proportion of sand and mud dominated by deposit-feeders. Poorly sorted sediments had higher species richness than well sorted sediments. Shallow stations showed the lowest taxonomic distinctness due to the occurrence of a high proportion of bryozoans encrusting hard substrata. A five-fold increase in biodiversity can occur at scales of tens of km, suggesting that generalizations on regional biodiversity patterns should be made with caution because of the different gears used during the collection of samples, and should be based on a thorough knowledge about the physical environment.

Keywords

benthic macrofaunasubtidalbiodiversitytaxonomic distinctnesssouth-west Atlantic
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 3 , May 2013 , pp. 611 - 617
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bilyard, G.R. (1987) The value of benthic infauna in marine pollution monitoring studies. Marine Pollution Bulletin 18, 581–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bremec, C., Elías, R. and Gambi, M.C. (2000) Comparison of the polychaete fauna composition from the Patagonian shelf and the Strait of Magellan. Preliminary results from cruises Shinkai Maru IV, V, X and XI (1978–1979) and second Italian oceanographic cruise (1991). Bulletin of Marine Science 67, 189–197.Google Scholar
Bremec, C., Souto, V. and Genzano, G. (2010) Polychaete assemblages in SW Atlantic: Results of ‘Shinkai Maru' IV, V, X and XI (1978–1979) cruises in Patagonia and Buenos Aires. Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia 38, 47–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bujalesky, G.G. (2007) Coastal geomorphology and evolution of Tierra del Fuego (Southern Argentina). Geologica Acta 5, 337–362.Google Scholar
Chen, G.T., Herman, R.L. and Vincx, M. (1999) Meiofauna communities from the Straits of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. Scientia Marina 63 (Supplement 1), 123–132.Google Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (2001) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. 2nd edition. Plymouth: PRIMER-E Ltd.Google Scholar
Di Domenico, M., Lana, P.C. and Garraffoni, A.R.S. (2009) Distribution patterns of interstitial polychaetes in sandy beaches of southern Brazil. Marine Ecology 30, 47–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gelin, A., Gravez, V. and Edgar, G.J. (2003) Assessment of Jessica oil spill impacts on intertidal invertebrate communities. Marine Pollution Bulletin 46, 1377–1384.Google Scholar
Gómez Gesteira, J.L. and Dauvin, J.-C. (2005) Impact of the Aegean Sea oil spill on the subtidal fine sand macrobenthic community of the Ares-Betanzos Ria (Northwest Spain). Marine Environmental Research 60, 289–316.Google Scholar
Gray, J.S. (1974) Animal–sediment relationships. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 12, 223–261.Google Scholar
Hernández Arana, H.A., Warwick, R.M., Attrill, M.J., Rowden, A.A. and Gold-Bouchot, G. (2005) Assessing the impact of oil-related activities on benthic macroinfauna assemblages of the Campeche shelf, southern Gulf of Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 289, 89–107.Google Scholar
Jørgensen, L.L., Renaud, P.E. and Cochrane, K.J. (2011) Improving benthic monitoring by combining trawl and grab surveys. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62, 1183–1190.Google Scholar
Junoy, J., Castellanos, C., Viéitez, J.M., de la Huz, M.R. and Lastra, M. (2005) The macroinfauna of the Galician sandy beaches (NW Spain) affected by the Prestige oil-spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 526–536.Google Scholar
López Gappa, J. and Sueiro, M.C. (2007) The subtidal macrobenthic assemblages of Bahía San Sebastián (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). Polar Biology 30, 679–687.Google Scholar
Lorenti, M. and Mariani, S. (1997) Isopod assemblages in the Straits of Magellan: structural and functional aspects. Polar Biology 18, 254–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maughan, B.C. and Barnes, D.K.A. (2000) Epilithic boulder communities of Lough Hyne, Ireland: the influences of water movement and sediment. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 80, 767–776.Google Scholar
Medeiros, C. and Kjerfve, B. (1988) Tidal characteristics of the Strait of Magellan. Continental Shelf Research 8, 947–960.Google Scholar
Michelato, A., Accerboni, E. and Berger, P. (1991) Current meter observations in the eastern and central sectors of the Strait of Magellan. Bollettino di Oceanologia Teorica ed Applicata 9, 261–271.Google Scholar
Montiel, A., Quiroga, E. and Gerdes, D. (2011) Diversity and spatial distribution patterns of polychaete assemblages in the Paso Ancho, Straits of Magellan Chile. Continental Shelf Research 31, 304–314.Google Scholar
Olsgard, F. and Gray, J.S. (1995) A comprehensive analysis of the effects of offshore oil and gas exploration and production on the benthic communities of the Norwegian continental shelf. Marine Ecology Progress Series 122, 277–306.Google Scholar
Paine, R.T., Ruesnik, J.L., Sun, A., Soulanille, E.L., Wonham, M.J., Harley, C.D.G., Brumbaugh, D.R. and Secord, D.L. (1996) Trouble on oiled waters: lessons from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27, 197–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perillo, G.M.E., Gómez, E.A., Aliotta, S. and Galindez, D. (1985) GRANUS: un programa FORTRAN para el análisis estadístico graficado de muestras de sedimento. Revista de la Asociación Argentina de Mineralogía, Petrología y Sedimentología 16, 1–5.Google Scholar
Prefectura Naval Argentina. (2008) Exploración y explotación petrolera. In Boltovskoy, D. (ed.) Atlas de Sensibilidad Ambiental de la Costa y el Mar Argentino. Available at http://atlas.ambiente.gov.ar/ (accessed July 2011).Google Scholar
Rhoads, D.C. and Young, D.K. (1970) The influence of deposit-feeding organisms on sediment stability and community trophic structure. Journal of Marine Research 28, 150–178.Google Scholar
Ríos, C., Mutschke, E. and Morrison, E. (2003) Biodiversidad bentónica sublitoral en el estrecho de Magallanes, Chile. Revista de Biología Marina y Oceanografía 38, 1–12.Google Scholar
Ríos, C., Arntz, W.E., Gerdes, D., Mutschke, E. and Montiel, A. (2007) Spatial and temporal variability of the benthic assemblages associated to the holdfasts of the kelp Macrocystis pyrifera in the Straits of Magellan, Chile. Polar Biology 31, 89–100.Google Scholar
Ríos, C., Mutschke, E. and Montiel, A. (2010) Estructura de la comunidad macrofaunística bentónica en la boca oriental del estrecho de Magallanes, Chile Austral. Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia 38, 83–96.Google Scholar
Roux, A.M., Fernández, M. and Bremec, C. (1995) Preliminary survey of the benthic communities of the Patagonian shrimp fishing grounds in San Jorge Gulf (Argentina). Ciencias Marinas 21, 295–310.Google Scholar
Sanders, H.L. (1958) Benthic studies in Buzzards Bay. I. Animal–sediments relationships. Limnology and Oceanography 3, 245–258.Google Scholar
Smith, S.D.A. and Simpson, R.D. (1995) Effects of the ‘Nella Dan’ oil spill on the fauna of Durvillaea antarctica holdfasts. Marine Ecology Progress Series 121, 73–89.Google Scholar
ter Braak, C.F.J. and Verdonschot, P.F.M. (1995) Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. Aquatic Sciences 57, 255–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thatje, S. and Brown, A. (2009) The macrobenthic ecology of the Straits of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia 37, 17–27.Google Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1989) The analysis of stress in natural populations. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 37, 51–78.Google Scholar
Villora-Moreno, S. (1997) Environmental heterogeneity and the biodiversity of interstitial Polychaeta. Bulletin of Marine Science 60, 494–501.Google Scholar
Warwick, R.M. (1993) Environmental impact studies on marine communities: pragmatical considerations. Australian Journal of Ecology 18, 63–80.Google Scholar
Warwick, R.M. and Clarke, K.R. (1995) New ‘biodiversity’ measures reveal a decrease in taxonomic distinctness with increasing stress. Marine Ecology Progress Series 129, 301–305.Google Scholar
Zar, J.H. (2010) Biostatistical analysis. 5th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Centurión Supplementary Material

Table

Download Centurión Supplementary Material(File)
File 848.9 KB