Caracterización del zoobentos asociado a la macroalga Colpomenia sinuosa en el litoral rocoso de Barbasquillo, de mayo a octubre 2022 Manabí, Ecuador.

Abstract

The zoobenthos represents one of the most diverse and exclusive groups of the rocky intertidal, characterized by the permanent presence of numerous taxa and families. The objective of this work is to characterize the zoobenthos associated with the macroalga Colpomenia sinuosa on the rocky coast of Barbasquillo beach, identify the organisms present up to the lowest taxon, determine abundance and diversity, and relate the zoobenthos present with abiotic factors (temperature, pH and salinity) of the area. Two monitoring sessions per month were carried out in the study area, with an interval of 15 days, from May to October 2022. A 5 x 10 m band transect located in the mid-coastal zone of Barbasquillo beach was used. The salinity, pH and temperature of seawater in the study area varied during the months of monitoring, presenting values of 30.82 ± 2.52 UPS; 7.45 ± 0.19 NBS and 24.34 ± 0.49 °C respectively. The zoobenthic community associated with C. sinuosa was 2450 individuals, represented by 12 species, 21 genera, 17 families and 9 classes, belonging to 5 phyla. Mollusks were the most abundant group with 76.98%, followed by arthropods (19.55%), annelids (3.10%), echinoderms (0.29%) and chordates (0.08%), the most abundant species was Columbella rusticoides. In the study area there is a diversity of media and a high dominance. In general, no clear relationships were observed between the environmental parameters considered in this work and the changes in the recorded zoobenthic communities.