THE MACROBENTHIC ECOLOGY OF THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN AND THE BEAGLE CHANNEL
The macrobenthic community of the Straits of Magellan and the Beagle Channel was investigated using a Reineck box corer at 22 stations during the Chilean "Cimar Fiordo 3" expedition in 1997. A total of 173 taxa represented by 2188 individuals were identified and are reported for the investigated area. Clear exponential relationships with depth were revealed by analysis of abundance, biomass, spe-cies richness, and evenness. These patterns coincide with posited theories of pelagic-benthic coupling and the source-sink hypothesis of colonisation-extinction dynamics. Polychaeta dominated macrobenthic community abundance and biomass, 67% and 38% respectively, therefore consideration of biogeographic affinities concentrated on this taxon. 13 species of polychaetes observed in the study area co-occur in Antarctica suggesting biogeographic or evolutionary affinities between these adjacent regions.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universidad de Magallanes
2009
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-686X2009000200002 |
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