Abstract
A 0.0625 m2 mini-box corer (MBC) was used to study the vertical distribution of macrobenthos in the shallow sublittoral zone of Admiralty Bay, during the 2003/2004 summer, near the Brazilian Station Comandante Ferraz, and the Peruvian Station Machu Picchu. Sediment samples were taken from 20, 30 and 60 m, and stratified for particle-size, total organic matter (TOM) and faunal composition analysis. The most abundant taxa were Polychaeta, Oligochaeta, Amphipoda, Cumacea, Bivalvia and Gastropoda. In general, macrofauna were concentrated in the 0–4 cm layer (64% of total organisms). Correlations between sediment characteristics and faunal densities have not completely explained neither the aggregation of organisms at the surface sediment layers nor the differences in faunal composition between locations at 20 m depth. Analysis of parameters such as organic carbon, heavy metals, interstitial water, and species composition should contribute to a better understanding of the diversity patterns found in this study.
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Acknowledgments
This project is part of a Brazilian Research Network dedicated to local environmental studies at Admiralty Bay funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA), and the Brazilian National Scientific and Technologic Development Council (CNPq). We are thankful for the logistical support provided by Inter-ministerial Secretary for the Sea Resources (SECIRM-Brazilian Navy). We are grateful to Dr Carlos Alejandro Echeverría for the Mini-Box Corer design and all his help during field and laboratory activities at the beginning of this project. We are thankful to Dr. Jonathan Stark and Dr. Jacek Sicinski for their useful suggestions in reviewing this manuscript. Rafael Bendayan de Moura is thanked for preparing the map presented here, and all the GEAMB team for their help in the field and laboratory. We would like to thank the three referees for their comments and suggestions.
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Filgueiras, V.L., Campos, L.S., Lavrado, H.P. et al. Vertical distribution of macrobenthic infauna from the shallow sublittoral zone of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. Polar Biol 30, 1439–1447 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0305-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0305-z