Hydroid assemblages from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (34–42° S)

Abstract This paper provides updated taxonomic knowledge about hydrozoan species and provides ecological information including geographical and bathymetric distributions and biological substrata for the various hydroid assemblages from the Sub‐Antarctic Biogeographical Region, mainly Buenos Aires an...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Ecology
Main Authors: Genzano, Gabriel N., Giberto, Diego, Schejter, Laura, Bremec, Claudia, Meretta, Pablo
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0485.2008.00247.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1439-0485.2008.00247.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1439-0485.2008.00247.x
Description
Summary:Abstract This paper provides updated taxonomic knowledge about hydrozoan species and provides ecological information including geographical and bathymetric distributions and biological substrata for the various hydroid assemblages from the Sub‐Antarctic Biogeographical Region, mainly Buenos Aires and the Uruguayan coasts. Five of the 41 species found are new records for the study region. Thirty‐one species (75.6%), all found at depths of less than 80 m, have cosmopolitan distributions. Biodiversity decreased markedly below 80 m depth, where nine species (≈22%) distributed in the Southern hemisphere and one endemic species (2.4%) were found. Most species were non‐specific epizoites, occurring on diverse substrata. A non‐parametric multivariate similarity analysis revealed nine species groups that were correlated with large‐scale and local oceanographic patterns and with the availability of suitable substrata. The main hydroid substrata for eight of the groups were cnidarians, molluscs (mainly blue mussels), quartzite rocks and sponges. In a single group found in Patagonian scallop beds, the main biological substrata were polychaete tubes, other hydroids and scallops.