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Spatiotemporal variation and sediment retention effects on nematode communities associated with Halimeda opuntia (Linnaeus) Lamouroux (1816) and Sargassum polyceratium Montagne (1837) seaweeds in a tropical phytal ecosystem

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Abstract

Nematodes play an important role in ecological processes and are one of the most abundant meiofaunal organisms associated with seaweeds. Yet, knowledge on seaweed bed ecosystems is limited. Nematodes associated with Sargassum polyceratium and Halimeda opuntia were compared in two transects, 80 m apart and parallel to the beach line in Cupe Beach, Brazil. The temporal variation during the dry and rainy seasons and the effect of sediment retention by the seaweed on nematode density and composition were investigated. The differences in nematode communities between the two seasons were mainly caused by the increase in density of the most abundant genera in the rainy season. A significant difference was observed between the nematode communities of the two transects for H. opuntia. The nematode communities of both seaweed species did not differ significantly in the same transect. The genus Euchromadora was dominant in both seaweed species. The amount of sediment retained by the seaweeds did not affect the overall nematode density. However, it was positively correlated with the density of Draconema and Euchromadora in both seaweeds, and both genera were exclusively found associated with seaweeds. This result opposes the idea that the more sediment retained by the seaweed, the higher the nematode overall density and the higher the number of nematodes originally coming from the sediment.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Carl Vangestel for the statistical advice, Prof. Dr. Verônica da Fonsêca-Genevois (in memorian) for the incentive and for sharing her experience, The Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) for the logistic support and the Flemish Interuniversity Council—University Development Cooperation (VLIR-UOS) for the grant and financing of the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Daniel A. S. De Oliveira & Wilfrida Decraemer

  2. Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife, Brazil

    Daniel A. S. De Oliveira, Clélia M. C. Da Rocha & Débora F. Barbosa

  3. OD Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, 1000, Brussels, Belgium

    Sofie Derycke & Wilfrida Decraemer

  4. Biology Centrum, Department of Zoology, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235 - Cidade Universitária, Recife, Brazil

    Giovanni A. P. Dos Santos

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  1. Daniel A. S. De Oliveira
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De Oliveira, D.A.S., Derycke, S., Da Rocha, C.M.C. et al. Spatiotemporal variation and sediment retention effects on nematode communities associated with Halimeda opuntia (Linnaeus) Lamouroux (1816) and Sargassum polyceratium Montagne (1837) seaweeds in a tropical phytal ecosystem. Mar Biol 163, 102 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2882-2

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