The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Megabenthic diversity patterns and community structure of the Blanes submarine canyon and adjacent slope in the Northwestern Mediterranean: a human overprint?

Megabenthic diversity patterns and community structure of the Blanes submarine canyon and adjacent slope in the Northwestern Mediterranean: a human overprint?
Megabenthic diversity patterns and community structure of the Blanes submarine canyon and adjacent slope in the Northwestern Mediterranean: a human overprint?
The composition and structure of megabenthic communities in the Blanes canyon and adjacent open margin (Northwestern Mediterranean) were studied. The aim was to assess the effect of the canyon and commercial fishing intensity on the community composition and structure of benthic megafauna by (i) describing the megabenthic community composition, (ii) quantifying faunal abundance and biomass and (iii) describing community structure with MDS analyses and biodiversity indices. The results are compared between three sites (canyon head, canyon wall and open margin) located between 435 m and 700 m. Samples were collected using a commercial bottom trawl between April 2003 and March 2004. These sites are exploited by the local fishing fleet that targets the rose shrimp Aristeus antennatus. A total of 131 megabenthic species were identified from the three sites, with fishes and decapod crustaceans being the most speciose, most abundant and of higher biomass. The species richness, abundance and biomass of non-crustacean invertebrates were low. There were no significant differences in total abundance and biomass between the three sites. However, community structure analysis suggests that the open margin community is significantly different from the canyon head and canyon wall, with a lower species richness, lower diversity and lower evenness. The open margin community also reflects a higher degree of disturbance compared to the two canyon habitats. The results indicate that there is a canyon effect on the community structure of benthic megafauna, but this may be modulated by differing fishing pressure, which adds an additional factor to margin heterogeneity.
0173-9565
167-182
Ramirez-Llodra, Eva
2a1cf383-ce51-4b53-8105-b8cdd83a26ee
Company, Joan Baptista
ee1b3989-ab85-40bc-a8ab-38a80e394d32
Sardà, Francisco
4fd22dc7-d28c-4881-9d03-7f3f61a5a239
Rotllant, Guiomar
68609b06-23ec-4fde-b469-f25e2c52ed3e
Ramirez-Llodra, Eva
2a1cf383-ce51-4b53-8105-b8cdd83a26ee
Company, Joan Baptista
ee1b3989-ab85-40bc-a8ab-38a80e394d32
Sardà, Francisco
4fd22dc7-d28c-4881-9d03-7f3f61a5a239
Rotllant, Guiomar
68609b06-23ec-4fde-b469-f25e2c52ed3e

Ramirez-Llodra, Eva, Company, Joan Baptista, Sardà, Francisco and Rotllant, Guiomar (2010) Megabenthic diversity patterns and community structure of the Blanes submarine canyon and adjacent slope in the Northwestern Mediterranean: a human overprint? Marine Ecology, 31 (1), 167-182. (doi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.2009.00336.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The composition and structure of megabenthic communities in the Blanes canyon and adjacent open margin (Northwestern Mediterranean) were studied. The aim was to assess the effect of the canyon and commercial fishing intensity on the community composition and structure of benthic megafauna by (i) describing the megabenthic community composition, (ii) quantifying faunal abundance and biomass and (iii) describing community structure with MDS analyses and biodiversity indices. The results are compared between three sites (canyon head, canyon wall and open margin) located between 435 m and 700 m. Samples were collected using a commercial bottom trawl between April 2003 and March 2004. These sites are exploited by the local fishing fleet that targets the rose shrimp Aristeus antennatus. A total of 131 megabenthic species were identified from the three sites, with fishes and decapod crustaceans being the most speciose, most abundant and of higher biomass. The species richness, abundance and biomass of non-crustacean invertebrates were low. There were no significant differences in total abundance and biomass between the three sites. However, community structure analysis suggests that the open margin community is significantly different from the canyon head and canyon wall, with a lower species richness, lower diversity and lower evenness. The open margin community also reflects a higher degree of disturbance compared to the two canyon habitats. The results indicate that there is a canyon effect on the community structure of benthic megafauna, but this may be modulated by differing fishing pressure, which adds an additional factor to margin heterogeneity.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: March 2010

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 79472
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/79472
ISSN: 0173-9565
PURE UUID: 511c0be8-cb12-487e-afc6-89390af3044f

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 16 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:30

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Eva Ramirez-Llodra
Author: Joan Baptista Company
Author: Francisco Sardà
Author: Guiomar Rotllant

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×