Temporal dynamics of gastropod fauna on subtidal sandy sediments of the Ensenada de Baiona (NW Iberian Peninsula)

• Published in: Helgoland Marine Research
• Language: English
• Published: Springer-Verlag 2011
• Subjects: Gastropoda; Sediment; Subtidal; Dynamics; Ensenada de Baiona; Iberian Peninsula; Atlantic Ocean; Patagonia; Rua; Aldea; Troncoso; Bulnes; antartic*; Dogwhelk
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2262/48503; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10152-009-0186-3

Abstract The temporal variation of the gastropod fauna inhabiting sandy sediments of the Ensenada de Baiona (Galicia, Spain) was studied at three subtidal sites from February 1996 to February 1997 by means of quantitative sampling. A total of 5,463 individuals representing 51 gastropod species and 22 families were found. The family Pyramidellidae was the most diverse in number of species (11 species), followed by Rissoidae and Trochidae (4 species each). The dogwhelk, Nassarius reticulatus, and the rissoid snail, Rissoa parva, were the numerically dominant species at the three studied sites; those and other abundant species showed their greatest densities by the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. In general, univariate measures of the assemblage (number of species, abundance, diversity and evenness) showed variations through time; greater values were recorded between summer and autumn depending on the site. Multivariate analyses done on abundance data showed certain seasonality in the evolution of the assemblage as expected for shallow subtidal sandy sediments at temperate latitudes; those seasonal changes were mostly related to variations in abundance of numerically dominant species. Although the measured sedimentary variables did not show significant correlations with faunal univariate parameters, sediment heterogeneity due to the presence of mats of Zostera marina L. and shells of dead bivalves might explain the differences in composition of the gastropod assemblage among sampling sites. phone: [phone] (Moreira, J.) [e-mail] (Moreira, J.) Estacion de Bioloxia Mari?a da Gra?a, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela - Casa do Horreo, Rua da Ribeira 1 - 15590 - A Gra?a, Ferrol - SPAIN (Moreira, J.) Departamento de Ecoloxia e Bioloxia Animal, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade de Vigo - Campus de Lagoas-Marcosende s/n - 36310 - Vigo - SPAIN (Aldea, C.) Fundacion Centro de Estudios del Cuaternario de Fuego-Patagonia y Antartica (CEQUA) - Avenida Bulnes - 01890 - Punta Arenas - CHILE (Aldea, C.) Departamento de Ecoloxia e Bioloxia Animal, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade de Vigo - Campus de Lagoas-Marcosende s/n - 36310 - Vigo - SPAIN (Troncoso, J. S.) CHILE SPAIN Registration: 2009-12-22 Received: 2009-07-08 Revised: 2009-12-18 Accepted: 2009-12-22 ePublished: 2010-01-06