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The highly diverse gastropod assemblages associated with Sargassum spp. (Phaeophyceae: Fucales) habitats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2019

Pedro Augusto Dos Santos Longo ,
Karine Ferreira Ribeiro Mansur ,
Fosca Pedini Pereira Leite  and
Flávio Dias Passos
Pedro Augusto Dos Santos Longo*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, State University of Campinas, Biology Institute, Monteiro Lobato Street, 255, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-862, Brazil Pedro Augusto dos Santos Longo, Graduate Program in Ecology, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-970,Brazil
Karine Ferreira Ribeiro Mansur
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, State University of Campinas, Biology Institute, Monteiro Lobato Street, 255, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-862, Brazil Graduate Program in Animal Biology, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil
Fosca Pedini Pereira Leite
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, State University of Campinas, Biology Institute, Monteiro Lobato Street, 255, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-862, Brazil
Flávio Dias Passos
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, State University of Campinas, Biology Institute, Monteiro Lobato Street, 255, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-862, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Pedro Augusto dos Santos Longo, E-mail: pedro.slongo@gmail.com
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Abstract

Macrophytes provide a habitat for many species of marine invertebrates, the gastropods being one of the main components. This study provides new information about Sargassum-associated gastropod biodiversity, through characterization of the fauna from a highly impacted area of Brazil, investigating its variation at a small spatial scale and between two main seasons of the year, as well as its relationship with macroalgae parameters. Density of gastropods was higher during the warmest season and varied throughout sampling sites. A significant and positive, however weak, relationship between gastropod density and Sargassum dry weight was found in all localities. For all sites, a marked and unusual dominance of Bittiolum varium was observed. The high dominance of this species seems to be related to the impacts caused by shipping activities and highway construction in the 1970s and 1980s, which caused a decline in local species diversity that seems to have continued until now. Many species, both typical of these habitats and characteristic of other, nearby habitats, benefit from Sargassum sp. These macrophytes allow gastropods to establish and grow during their most vulnerable stages, as shown by the growth series and juvenile forms found for most species of gastropods. The present data highlight the importance of macrophyte habitats for gastropod biodiversity in coastal areas and call attention to the importance of raising knowledge on this fauna, especially in impacted areas, thus contributing to the conservation of these highly diverse and ecologically important macrophyte–gastropod systems.

Keywords

Biodiversitymacroalgaegrowth seriesmarine diversitymolluscsmarine snails
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 6 , September 2019 , pp. 1295 - 1307
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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