IngentaConnect Macrofaunal community structure and distribution in a muddy coast...

Authors: Magni P.¹; Micheletti S.¹; Casu D.²; Floris A.²; De Falco G.¹; Castelli A.³

Source: Chemistry and Ecology, Volume 20, Supplement 1, Supplement 1/June 2004 , pp. 397-409(13)

Abstract:

Macrofaunal communities and specific bulk properties of organically enriched sediments were investigated in the coastal lagoon of Cabras (Sardinia, western Mediterranean) on a grid of twenty-nine sampling stations, in spring 2001. Species composition and community structure indicated poor and heterogeneous macrofaunal communities, characterized by few predominant taxa typical of degraded environments, such as Polydora ciliata, Tubificidae nc and Neanthes succinea, distributed differently in some areas of the lagoon. Sediments were homogeneously muddy, with a mean silt + clay content of 93%. The analysis of specific grain size intervals within the mud fraction, however, highlighted a marked spatial variability of sediment particle distribution. Simple associations included a positive relationship of both Ficopomatus enigmaticus and Corophium sextonae, patchily distributed along the shores, with sediment sorting ( sigma

), an index of sediment selection due to hydrodynamic energy. By contrast, inner areas, characterized by a major accumulation of finer particles (and organic matter), with a sediment mean size ( Phi

) up to 8.2 phi, were least populated. The results suggest the existence of an early stage of faunal succession which might be related to an excessive organic content of sediments and the tendency to dystrophic events in the Cabras lagoon.

Keywords: Benthic macrofauna; Spatial distribution; Sediment grain size; Mediterranean Sea

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/02757540310001629161

Affiliations: 1: IMC - International Marine Centre Località Sa Mardini 09072 Torregrande-Oristano Italy 2: Dipartimento di Zoologia e Antropologia Biologica Università di Sassari C.so Margherita di Savoia 15 07100 Sassari Italy 3: Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Uomo e dell'Ambiente Università di Pisa Via A. Volta 6 56126 Pisa Italy

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Macrofaunal community structure and distribution in a muddy coastal lagoon