Biodiversity and distribution patterns of planktonic cnidarians in San Matías Gulf, Patagonia, Argentina

• Published in: Marine Ecology
• Main Authors: Guerrero, Elena, Gili, Josep Maria, Rodriguez, Carolina, Araujo, Enilma M., Canepa, Antonio, Calbet, Albert, Genzano, Gabriel
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2013
• Subjects: Hydrography; Hydromedusae; Pyrostephos vanhoeffeni; Siphonophorae; Southwestern Atlantic Ocean; Antarctic; Argentina; Argentine; Española; Patagonia; Rodriguez; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/75278; https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12027

12 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables The special location (40-42°S in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean) and the hydrodynamic regime (limited water exchange with open ocean) in San Matías Gulf (Argentina) seem to produce a particular fauna of planktonic cnidarians whose their abundances are mainly shaped by the Gulf circulation. Four oceanographic cruises, covering 93 stations in three different seasons during 2007 and 2008 were carried out to quantify species richness and abundance, as well as to analyse the distribution of these cnidarians. We identified 20 species of hydromedusae and one siphonophore, increasing the total number of hydromedusae for the area to 23. This value is similar to the one found in the abutting Argentine continental shelf (20), but with a different assemblage composition. Hydromedusae abundances found were low, except for a bloom of the Leptomedusa Obelia spp. during the cold season. The only siphonophore found in the area, Pyrostephos vanhoeffeni, has previously been thought to be endemic to Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, this being the first record for temperate waters of the Southwest Atlantic Ocean This work was funded by the projects PID 2003#371 and PICT-2006 Start up #1575 (Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica); EXA 465/11 (Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata) and PIP – CONICET 112 201101 00152. E. Guerrero acknowledges financial support from AECI (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional-Ministerio Asuntos Exteriores). C. Rodriguez is supported by CONICET fellowship. E. M. Araujo acknowledges the fellowship support by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nı´vel Superior), Brazil. A. Canepa was funded by CONICYT (PFCHA/Doctorado al Extranjero 4ª Convocatoria, 72120016).The publication of this paper is supported by CONISMA, the Italian National Interuniversity Consortium for Marine Sciences Peer reviewed